Well, Actually brings romcoms into the Gen Z future. With a lot of current event jokes and banter, it was fun to catch all the laughs with things that are so applicable in today’s world.
The story of Rylie and Eva was a cute, enemies to lovers, second chance romance brought to us in NYC. The story brings out a lot of emotions around finding your place in the world and how to navigate your 20s with inequitable jobs and ghosting romances.
I really enjoyed the way the story was brought to us through a podcast experiment, but sometimes it felt “too” current?
Otherwise, if you like a black cat/golden retriever romance with a lot of banter, this book is for you.

This was such a fun read! Eva and Riley's banter had me hooked from the start. There's few things I love more than Andrew Garfield's Chicken Shop Date episode, so I knew I would have a fun time with this one. I really loved the communication between Eva and Riley. I think it's sometimes difficult to have a second chance romance trope without playing into miscommunication, but their relationship was so healthy and I really appreciated that. I also LOVED the representation in this book! Overall, this book was a high 4.75 stars for me, I think the only thing keeping me from a 5 was that at times Eva felt a little too mean and it took me out of the story a bit.

I'm going to go ahead and say that Cooper should have dodged a bullet and let this one go for good. Man, Eva is so annoying. I liked the banter and back and forth between these two at first and I thought it was flirty and fun but at a certain point I was like ok, enough already. Somewhere around the 60% mark, I couldn't wait for this book to be over and I don't think that's a good thing. I'm giving this one 3 stars because if you don't mind the FMC this could be a good book, and there were definitely parts of this book that I enjoyed. Cooper is a saint and I hope they have their HEA but I'm guessing divorce is in their future lmao.

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

First off, thank you so much for allowing me to read this before the release date.

This book was everything I anticipated to be. The trope of this book was second chance and grumpyxsunshine. I immediately fell in love with Eva, because let's be honest here who doesn't want to blast their ex on social media? The way Mazey accurately describe the growth, struggles, and the depth of the love that these two have for each other was INCREDIBLE. I felt like I was Eva's friend the whole time reading this book. I love how gentle and reassuring the author does when it comes to addressing really heavy topics such as grief, death of a loved ones, abandonment issues, and many more. This was my first read of Mazey and I cannot wait to dive into her other books. I love this book so so much, it's one of the top read for me this year!

I went into this book blind, having requested the ARC on NetGalley simply because every [author:Mazey Eddings|21253331] book I've ever read (her entire backlist, nbd) has had me cackling and feeling like a million bucks afterwards. When I read the title I sent an immediate text to my ESBB (Emotional Support Book Buddy) that I was hoping, PRAYING, for a mansplaining fuckboy MMC and a firecracker FMC to put him in his place and boy did I get it! Rylie Cooper, former fuckboy, current podcast host sporting a pair of slutty glasses and an ironic crew neck sweatshirt is simultaneously everything and nothing like the mansplainer I had dreamed of. His past behavior towards Eva definitely slots him into the fuckboy asshole category and Eva is just the sharp-clawed black cat to put him in his place. I loved their banter, that Eva takes absolutely no shit but gives approximately 100% shit to Rylie, I love her steel backbone and commitment to herself first. I also love her slow evolution into Eva In Love - still mean and bickering constantly with Rylie but in a much sweeter, foreplay-esque manner. This book was a single POV which is usually not my jam but for Ms. Mazey I will always make an exception. I so enjoyed this trip into Eva's head and found myself rooting for her and shockingly enough even for Rylie eventually. 5/5 for me!

Well, Actually

What a cute enemies to lovers story between black cat Eva and golden retriever Rylie.

Love that Eva is an angry crier (aren’t we all).

A book has never made me yell “you need to get coffee with him” before, so this was a first 😝.

Also laughed way too hard at the line “i give off lactose intolerant energy?”. As a family of lactose intolerant individuals this is hilarious.

Very cute, very bingeable!

I received an ARC of Well, Actually on NetGalley and really enjoyed it! Mazey Eddings writes such relatable, smart characters, and I loved the neurodivergent rep—it felt authentic and refreshing. The romance had great banter and chemistry, and the emotional moments hit in a real way. A few pacing issues kept it from being a full 5 stars for me, but overall, this was a heartfelt, witty read I’m glad I picked up.

ARC Review // Well, Actually by Mazey Eddings
Thank you @stmartinspress for the advance copy!

This book is straight out of a 2000s rom-com fever dream—in the best way possible. Think: the banter of How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, the chaotic charm of The Ugly Truth, and the chemistry you wished Rachel and Joey had gotten to explore more (yes, I said what I said).

Mazey Eddings nailed the humor, the awkward moments, the swoony slow burn, and the kind of will-they-won’t-they tension that had me smiling like a dork at my Kindle. It’s witty, heartwarming, a little messy in that real-life way, and full of big “he fell first” energy.

Spice level: 2/5 🌶️ — just enough to make your cheeks warm and your heart race.

If you're looking for something fun, nostalgic, and delightfully romantic, this is your next favorite read.

Rating: 5/5

If you really love enemies to lovers and podcasts that are a bit raunchy you will like this book. It wanted to be Chicken Shop Date but it missed the mark for me.

As a lover of A Brush With Love, I went into this one with high hopes... and I was blown away. I love the tone, the style, the dialogue; Eddings has such a way with her characters and how they interact that feels so genuine and real, and also has the quick wit that I wish I had in every conversation.

While initially I eye-rolled at much of Eva's behavior towards Rylie, I also understood her reasons not only from personal experience but in how Eddings wrote her. And, even better, she always gives her characters accountability. They never got to get away with being an unreasonable jerk without facing why they were and apologizing for it which can be rare at times. I also love the lack of sugar-coating that she does. Her writing is raw, honest, and has such an emotional-intelligence to it that it makes me want to talk to my therapist while still fitting beautifully in the romance genre by giving us feet kicking banter and emotional moments.

More than anything I love the LGBTQIA+ representation, much of the mainstream rep has mostly kept to LGB characters with bisexuality being less common (though growing) and this is one of the few instances that I've seen pansexual representation. We also have some polyamorous and trans rep which I hope and pray we will see more of those characters in future books as well!

I love a good enemies to lovers story but Eva took the “enemies” role a little too far. I understand she has some past trauma that may influence her attitude and reactions as an adult, but she was such an unlikable character from the start that it was difficult to get through most of her scenes. She was in constant b***h mode when around Rylie, who really should not have wasted his time with her because of her attitude. And for a late twenty-something year old to publicly blast Rylie the way she did was incredibly immature (considering she went from first kiss to first lay in two months, she really didn’t even have anything before him to compare to so the blast was completely unjustified). Rylie was a bit too….optimistic? Happy? Eager? Both of them were total polar opposites and for me, I didn’t care about the attraction.

Yes, actually! Mazey Eddings just hit it out of the park again. She is a completely reliable author. I just adore her take on romance. There’s so much nuances in her characters. They are fully formed in themselves, which just makes for such great romance! Obviously everybody’s gonna talk about the Andrew Garfield cosplay here, but I’m totally into it. Lol! We’ve all seen the TikTok and the vibes are here!

Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.75 stars - Took me a bit to get past the snarky nature of the FMC but the MMC was such a sweetheart. Swooning over him. I laughed, I cried. Second chance romance that was super cute and was a quick read.

Kind of read like chicken shop dates

Spice: 🌶️🌶️/5. ( open door)

The main character may have a show similar to Chicken Shop Date, and she may act in a similar manner during that show. But this is not the same vibe as Amelia and Andrew Garfield as some have said. Not even a little.

Pros
- I thought her internal monologue was funny
- Witty
- I enjoyed the fmc personality, I could vibe with her
- Fun dynamic between the couple

Cons
- I found myself skimming a lot
- Whiny fmc. I enjoyed the contrarian attitude, but the boo hooing really got to me
- Rylie’s fashion sense
- Weird nicknames (I get they called each other kitten/baby girl as a joke, but it was lame)
- Shitty friends (Aida needs to get lost)
- An out of place therapy session that really didn’t move the plot forward much
- I really didn’t like how she let her bosses belittle her and use her as a doormat. I get that in situations like that you can’t always speak up for yourself, but she bent to their will and apologized profusely to them for things that were not her fault. It really turned me off of her character.

I was excited to read this book, but I really had a hard time with the language in it. I may try another Mazey Eddings book, but this was just not for me.

I've never read anything by Mazey Eddings before, but I will now be looking up everything she's ever written and binge-reading. The characters in this book are SO well-written and the plot/drama throughout is amazing. It's a "Chicken Shop Date" female lead with a golden retriever male lead, and their chemistry/banter is electric. I loved every second. There were so many times I laughed out loud during this book that I wanted to label it as half comedy/half romance. "You're the human equivalent of Comic Sans." Stop. Are you kidding me?! But here's the best part...there's no annoying break-up or worse..."misunderstanding" that leads to conflict between the leads. There's just raw honesty, and loyalty with appropriate space and boundaries. I loved it so much. Pick this one up if you're a fan of romance!

This pains me, but I didn’t love it.

It was cute and the cover is gorgeous and I absolutely love that this is supposed to be Amelia and Andrew fan fiction (although I’m not 100% sure about that)

But the FMC was just mean to the MMC. Like I get being upset at him but the issue happened 6 years prior and she was just mean to him. I’d rather her have been dismissive but I think the author was trying to use the meanness as banter and it just didn’t land for me.

I also felt that the gay bestie was a bit too stereotypical for me.

This might be for some people and maybe I’m just not in the mood for contemp? I think many people will enjoy it because the MMC was prettt adorable and there were many funny moments. I will say that there was also a lot of relatability with the FMC and how she felt about relationships and being at that age where your life doesn’t feel like it’s moving anywhere. I did relate to that.

Thank you to net galley for the arc!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s for gifting me a copy of this novel for free in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own!

Well, Actually by Mazey Eddings (author of Late Bloomer, Tilly in Technicolor, The Plus One, Lizzie Blake’s Best Mistake, and A Brush with Love) comes out on 8/5/25. This 384-page novel about podcasts and a second chance at love is equal parts spicy and charming.

Told in first person from our female main character’s POV, Well, Actually is the tale of two podcasters finding each other. Eva Kitt is a podcast host who is known for scarfing down hot dogs while interviewing C-list celebrities. She is commitment-phobic after a bad first romance with our male main character, Rylie Cooper. He is a successful podcast host and a reformed f*ckboy.

One night, while drunkenly scrolling through social media, Eva sees one of his videos and decides to stitch it with her own version of how things ended when they were back in college. Her video goes viral, and her boss sets her up to interview Rylie. What follows is a second chance, enemies-to-lovers romance for the ages.

This is my favorite kind of romance novel: female agency, open communication, banter, and no third-act break-up! Addictive and quotable, this Beatrice and Benedick (Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing) style love story will leave you satisfied!

5/5 Stars!

💌 “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘮 𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶.”

this book is inspired by amelia dimoldenberg with chicken shop date, and i believe andrew garfield? to say the least, this was such a original idea! eva and riley are top-notch book girlfriend and boyfriend. their chemistry is so raw and their banter is unmatched!

💌 “𝘍𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧.” “𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘳 𝘐 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶.”

i am a sucker for second chance romance. there is just something about two people fumbling their way through old wounds and tangled history that makes their every interaction feel extra tender. eva and riley have history and their previous relationship did not end well. their prior relationship is discussed in the book—one of their dates even dips into the deep end—but i couldn’t help but wish we lingered there a little longer. eva’s family dynamic plays an extreme role in shaping her sense of worth, then and now, and it still casts quiet shadows over the way she loves; i thought this storyline was beautiful and realistic but it was overlooked in the grand scheme of things.

💌 “𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴?” 𝘊𝘰𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘴, 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘢𝘻𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴. “𝘠𝘦𝘴. 𝘋𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶?” 𝘐 𝘢𝘴𝘬, 𝘢 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦. “𝘖𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘺 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭?” 𝘏𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨. “𝘗𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘰 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦.” 𝘔𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘴 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘭 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘥 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦. “𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘢𝘺, 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘺 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭.” 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘫𝘢𝘸 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯.

eva is an fmc who may not be for everyone, but she is my soft-hearted, using-humor-as-a-coping-mechanism baby girl. riley, of course, sees straight through her one-liners to the parts she tries to hide.

riley is an absolute sweetheart. he’s always smiling and good-humored despite everything. he has these adorable slutty tortoiseshell glasses… they really shouldn’t work, and yet they 𝘢𝘣𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 do!

i would absolutely recommend this book! the first 30% of this book had me in tears laughing. between the 50-70% mark, the story deepens and emotions unravel. the last 30% of the book, however, makes up for everything.

💞 tropes in this book include
- second chance romance
- black cat x golden retriever
- she hates him, he’s obsessed with her
- mental health rep

ARC Review - Huge thanks to Mazey Eddings and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to receive a review copy of Well, Actually!

⭐️⭐️ for the first 50% - DNF at 60%. I started out hopeful with this book. It’s a bit different from what I typically read within the romance genre, but it was giving off a fun romcom vibe and FMC Eva felt hugely relatable for me saying things like:

“He walks toward me with the confidence of a man who… Honestly, a metaphor is kind of superfluous. He walks forward with the confidence of a man…”

Eva’s biting, sarcastic exterior is a front - her coping mechanism for feeling inadequate and too difficult to love, and honestly, same. I, too, have had too many negative experiences with men to count and am done with living in the post-capitalist hellscape we call our society - here, here!

As the book went on, though, I found my interest waning for a few different reasons. Structurally, I am used to reading romance in dual POV and assumed that’s what I was getting going into this, but it’s a solo POV from the perspective of the FMC. This paired with a majority of the chapters being much longer than the average 10 pages I come across made the experience quite daunting for me as a neurodiverse reader who has a hard enough time maintaining my focus throughout a standard chapter - let alone one double or triple the length.

I didn’t understand the interchangeable use of MMC Rylie Cooper’s first and last names. Eva refers to him almost exclusively as ‘Cooper,’ but we never get any clear insight into why this is (or if there is a reason). This gets kind of confusing since Cooper is a somewhat common first name these days and I initially wondered if it was a mistake in the editing process until it was ongoing.

I also found the multiple mentions of fixing or holding someone’s gaze while on a video call strange. I’m not the most tech savvy, but I don’t see how that is possible to the extent used in this book when everyone’s Zoom screens appear differently to them, and really, just looking directly at your screen could be misconstrued as holding someone’s gaze. IDK - video calls and holding someone’s gaze don’t go together for me 🤷🏼‍♀️

As mentioned above, the book started out feeling like a dark-humoured romcom with the potential for LOL moments, but it started to shift into something more heavy and dramatic around the 40% mark. Keeping in mind that the extent of the MCs’ “relationship” was a few dates in college over 6 years ago, there was way too much attachment for both of them to something that never was - Eva herself says this on multiple occasions. It became hard to dedicate my efforts to continuing (given the other complaints I mentioned above) when things felt like they were going in circles and way too serious for a former fling. Like many other reviewers, I really enjoyed the first half of the book - which is the reason for the ⭐️⭐️ rating - but I couldn’t bring myself to invest more time after things started (and continued) downhill.