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.

This is one of my most anticipated reads of the year, and it did not disappoint. Mazey Eddings wrote a beautiful second-chance rom-com with emotional depth, emotional/affective responsibility, and awareness of social and patriarchal expectations without lecturing the reader, but making us feel the characters' vulnerability through the pages and root for them from the start. The plot in this one is so good!!
The characters were relatable, even if to some, Eva could be considered "unlikable." I loved her attitude, closed-offness, and especially her coming out of her shell and standing up for herself and what’s right. And Rylie? The most baby girl, emotionally available guy you can find!! I could not recommend this book enough. Please read it, request it, buy it. Everyone should give it a try!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Mazey Eddings does an incredible job fleshing out her characters. Their thoughts, feelings, history - they feel real enough to be my friends.

Riley Cooper was the hottest, goofiest MMC I’ve read in a minute. He reminded me of my own partner. Eva Kurt lives in every working woman to some degree. We’ve all felt knocked down by a man or an industry one time or another.

This book really meant a lot to me. I absolutely loved it.

My only question … can we get Aida’s story next?

First book of Mazey that I have read and I am a fan! overall was a great book with a great story like. Very adorable!!

2.5 Stars

This was a cute concept with Eva hosting Sausage Talk but everything about the show was T O X I C and not in a fun ‘oh that’s something Eva can work around and through’ the story (which she does). I’m talking this was too toxic for me to stand and it pulled me out of the story every time she interacted with one of them. Her boss, the show itself - filmed in a basement -, and her best friend/producer: jail. Jail for all of it/them. Eva please, you DESERVE BETTER.

And while I love me an unlikable Female Character, Eva really pushed my limits with her self-deprecating thoughts, childhood sob story, and Hot Girl Attitude combo. Rylie? That man was boring so I guess it IS an opposites attract romance in that Eva has all the personality and Rylie has none. Some of Eva’s one-liners had me cackling, though. When she was on, girl was really on.

Eva has a thought early on in the book that stuck with me through the rest of it: “But if that one-sided situationship wasn’t bad enough, here I am, six years later, drunkenly dragging him on the internet and now having to soberly confirm him like I’ve been carrying a torch this entire time.” Eva, just because you don’t think you haven’t been carrying a torch doesn’t mean your subconsciousness doesn’t know that you have been. And for this being six years ago, both Eva and Rylie were both too caught up in each other/the past for it to seem like it hadn’t happened a year ago, tops.

Lastly, with all the references/call-backs to current internet/Social Media celebs (Chicken Shop Date & Kyle Prue being the main and obvious ones), I can see this book being aged-out of current vernacular within a year - the internet moves too quickly.

Like I said, I loved the concept for this romance, and I did find the first half to be quite enjoyable, but then my interest dwindled with every passing chapter and Rylie and Eva couldn’t sell me on their HEA.

This was my first Mazey Eddings book and while I enjoyed the writing, nothing else worked for me.

DNF

Firstly, thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the opportunity to read this ARC!

The premise of Well, Actually sounded really intriguing—but this one just didn’t do it for me. I got a few chapters in and found myself struggling to stay focused. I did enjoy the main character at first-she definitely has a unique voice and personality. But as time went on her attitude wore on me. I 100% get she was written to have this snarky vibe on purpose but I think it just started to take away from the story.

Eventually, I just realized I wasn’t excited to pick it back up… so I didn’t.

Not a bad book by any means, just not the right fit for me.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Mazey Eddings for the early access copy of Well, Actually.

Well, Actually follows the story of Eva Kitt, the host of Sausage Talk, who with her prickly demeanor, interviews celebrities while eating hot dogs. On the side Eva writes her own journalistic blog, with aspirations of one day pursuing her journalism career. When Eva calls out her college ex through a social media rant and it goes viral, she is forced to confront Rylie on a live episode of Sausage Talk. When Rylie, offers to make up for his toxic past behaviour and take Eva on a series of dates, she is placed in the position to go on the dates with the potential to grow her career away from Sausage Talk. But, what happens when the dates start to feel all too real, has Rylie really changed from the boy who broke her heart.

With a black cat, prickly female lead, she is witty and relentless with her jabs. Rylie gives golden retriever energy with his thoughtful and honest personality. Well, Actually depicts breaking down emotional wall and the importance of open communication. This is a spicy, he falls first romance.

"Well, Actually" by Mazey Eddings (out August 5, 2025) is another entry in the author’s collection, though, unfortunately, it didn’t win me over. Eva Kitt, an aspiring journalist stuck hosting a quirky show called Sausage Talk, gets swept into a viral drama involving her ex, Rylie Cooper, a social media personality who teaches men about toxic masculinity. Rylie proposes a deal: he’ll take Eva on a series of dates to make amends, and they’ll talk about it online, but Eva has her own agenda, aiming to use Rylie’s redemption for career advancement. The premise had potential, but the execution didn’t quite land for me. Eva and Rylie’s back and forth dynamic felt repetitive, and the fake dating trope didn’t bring anything new to the table. If we can call it fake dating?
Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the chance to read this book in advance in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was such a fun read, even though some of the subject matter felt so heavy on the characters’ shoulders.
Eva was a firecracker of a FMC. I reeeeally enjoyed her giving everyone the utmost sass, especially Rylie, and she was always so unapologetic about it. After delving more into her backstory and why she responds that way, I felt devastated for her. The whole act was a facade that she built in order to keep her heart from being broken because no one had ever cared about her or her feelings her whole life.
Rylie was a different story. At the start, in true solidarity with the FMC, I disliked Rylie, too. I wrote him off as self-righteous and as someone with something to prove. He proved me wrong, alright. The scene with him and Eva in couple’s therapy, and even the scene beforehand where they go to a coffee shop to pretend to be friends for an hour? When he cracks his chest wide open and allows her to see all the hurt and trauma he endured during their first times together? I have never wanted so badly to hug a character in a book!
The spice in this, by the way? Top-notch. 5 delicious chili peppers.
I loved this book and would 100% recommend it.

This was a solid 4/5 Stars for me ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I adored the other books I’ve read by Mazey Eddings and was so excited when approved for this ARC! Her banter is unmatched and I’m obsessed with the way her writing is so easy to read.

Her latest involves a second chance romance between former classmates who dated a few times but abruptly stopped when Cooper ghosted Eva. Flash forward about 6 years—Eva posts a stitch to one of Cooper’s videos calling him out on the way things went down between them and his less than ideal “performance”. The video goes viral partly because Cooper is now a beloved social media persona while Eva also works in the public eye. The two reconnect over a series of orchestrated dates meant for Cooper to prove to Eva and himself that he’s matured since college. What starts as clickbait develops into a very real love story between the two so buckle up for a flirty, fun rollercoaster of a ride.

The chemistry between Cooper and Eva is genuinely off the charts. It was so refreshing to see the two of them reconnect and overcome their individual and joint issues. I felt Eddings did a great job of handling their traumas with delicacy and properly worked through them before thrusting them together for a happy ending. Props to her sensitivity readers!!! Overall, this was a really great read—it brings all of her normal charisma, strong FMC energy, witty banter and just overall adorable romance. Be sure to add this one to your TBR—set to release August 5th☺️

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this incredible opportunity to review Mazey Eddings’ most recent romcom, Well, Actually in an advanced reader copy! Eva Kitt is a shrewd, no nonsense, brutal, biting bitch (lovingly) who hosts an online interview segment surrounding hot dogs and hot takes with sizzling chemistry with her interviewees. When she drunkenly stitches together a video of toxic masculinity destroyer and beloved podcaster Rylie Cooper, outing him for their past tryst in college when he was a fratboy and the antithesis of his new persona, her show capitalizes off the immediate fandom the tete-a-tete provides, and she finds herself going on date after date with the one who ghosted her. Rylie is an adorable, loving golden retriever, and I cherished his tenderness with the biting Eva. The banter was bantering, y’all. And Eva? A lot of people are going to be quick to dismiss Eva for being too brash, too harsh, too much, but I couldn’t get enough of her brutal honesty that she dishes but cannot take and her own transformation to let love in. This book is the answer to the Chicken Shop Date with Andrew Garfield obsession we are all harboring, and Eddings delivers.

Mazey Eddings has been an author that I automatically order when there is a new book out. My last read by Eddings was Late Bloomer. Which was a cute sapphic story. For this book, I was excited about the premise and the great cover. Edding's loosely bases the plot from Chicken Shop Date, but instead the main character, Eva, does a hot dog shop date. Which in someways is arguably funnier. The second chance romance was also cute and well done. Eva really liked Rylie when they briefly dated in college, but he ghosted her. Now Rylie is a famous podcaster who is roasted by Eva in a drunk social media video about his lackluster performance. The dynamic was cute, Eva was the black cat to Rylies golden retriever personality. Both characters were, and are, going through things which really creates a deeper connection. My one issue with this, though, is it felt like Rylie gave so much of himself and his past to Eva. But, Eva never really opens up the same way. We see Eva remembering the ways in which her family disappointed her time and again, leading to her wish for someone to love her unconditionally. Even with multiple opportunities she never shares this trauma. While Rylie shares his trauma, multiple times. I think the story would have been stronger with this and the romance more believable. Overall the story was cute and funny. At times it was also quite serious looking at toxic work cultures and misogyny in the media. I would recommend it to anyone interested in seeing a Chicken Shop inspired story or for fans of Eddings. (Thank You to St. Martins Press and Netgalley for the ARC)

Thank you St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Well, Actually by Mazey Eddings was a pretty fun read!! Eva is so unapologetically her and I love her character. She felt genuine and real. I loved the banter between Eva and Riley. The witty dialogue made the book super fun for me as well. I love the growth between the both of them, both together and separate. The vulnerability they both showed was amazing and I just found myself being able to relate so hard.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DIgp2att5hp/?igsh=NGp0NnI5dnRicjJ3

Posted arc review to my Instagram account 🫶

To be completely honest, I was a little skeptical of this book from the description and the first couple of chapters. I was worried that it would be too TikTok-feeling and trendy, but it actually turned out to be really lovely. The characters were really believable and lovable; it was definitely hot, and it didn't feel completely overwhelmed by social media trends or pop culture.

I LOVE THIS BOOK i’m only 56% of the way through but I’m already so in love with Eva and Rylie and CAN THEY JUST KISS ALREADY!! I am obsessed with the way that Mazey writes; it's so bold and vivid and unapologetic, much like our dear sweet Eva! I was going to wait until I finished but I needed to write this down because I know I’ll still stand by it when I finish!

This book was just the cutest little thing.

Eva Kitt was crushing hard on Rylie Cooper in college. They went on a few dates and had one lackluster sexual encounter before he ghosted her.

Fast forward 6 years, and he's a social media celebrity she can't seem to avoid. She stitches a drunken response about how unimpressive he was in college, and it goes viral. So obviously, they take their trauma to the internet and Rylie talks her into going on 6 dates where he can prove he isn't the same guy he was in college after which they recap each date on his podcast.

The witty banter in this is top tier and so funny. Eva is quick witted with a sharp tongue for sure but Rylie is just so smitten. I love a man who wants to take care of the woman he loves.

Going into this story, I wasn’t sure what to fully expect. What I found was a sweet and enduring romance between Eva and Cooper. Eva, a disgruntled and miserable 20something, calls out a former flame online and the video goes viral. What does Cooper do in response? Offer to make it right and asks Eva to give him another chance over the next six dates. What transpires is a fun story of witty dialogue, emotional growth, and definitely a spicy scene or two. The only drawback I had for this book was the rushed ending. I highly recommend this book.