⭐️⭐️⭐️ — Sweet concept, but missing the layers it needed

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ALC of The Pizza Man by Eddy Twice, narrated by David Hoskin and AJ Wilder.

While this was a massive improvement over the first book I read by this author, it still didn’t quite hit the mark for me. The premise is charming—a work-focused woman and a carefree pizza delivery guy falling into an unexpected romance—but the execution lacked the depth and detail that would have really elevated what could have been a lovely story.

The narration was pleasant, with David Hoskin and AJ Wilder bringing a nice warmth to the characters, but I found myself wanting more emotional nuance and richer world-building to fully connect with Bella and Joe’s journey.

It’s a light, quick listen with a sweet romance at its core, but for me, it just didn’t have enough substance to linger after the final chapter.

Meet Bella and Joe.
Something is missing in Joe's life. He is in search of his starlight. He needs to fill a void that comes from being estranged from his father all these years. He puts all his time and energy into his new business and wears 100 hats to make it work.
Bella is trying to fix the cracks in everyone else's life, while avoiding her own.
Match made in heavy - Both Joe and Bella come together just when they both need that support and to see the growth they have in themselves, to live their best life. Reflecting on the past, bantering with friends and family, all while being their unique authentic self.

I was going into this with positive thoughts; however, I just could not get into it. I didn't love the narrators or the writing style. There was no trigger warnings which is a big of a red flag when discussing death of a parent. Probs wouldn't recommend this.

ALC for Net Galley and Victory Editing

This is a sweet story but I feel like there are a few misses. The book got better as the story went on but it was also very confusing at times. I had to go back the beginning and listen again because I was so confused about Joe and Bella’s connection.

I was also so consumed about her nickname. I think there are a few plot holes and also storylines that don’t seem to get wrapped up. Specifically(without giving a spoiler) what happened to his dad. It’s a freaking outrage and everyone just let it go after the moment… WTF.

I gave this one a three because there are very sweet and touching moments. The story does improve and I did enjoy the ending. It’s just a little confusing at the start.

I did enjoy the male narrator David Hoskin. He was an excellent Joe.

1.25 ⭐️ To say this book disappointed me would be an understatement. It started off with most things that we enjoy in a romance novel. We have this hard working woman who is completely undervalued at her job and this rich, hot, restaurant owner nearby. They find each other and instant sparks. Then it starts to go downhiill…

The FMC was insecure at the most inappropriate times. The first time with the bed incident— I feel like it would’ve been understandable if she was much younger but at 30, just tell the guy that the sheets got stained…no big deal. Then he CLEARLY has an emergency and rather than worrying about him and his dad’s health, she’s wondering why he hasn’t reached out. Are you serious? She even sees him at the hospital and rather than go up to him and ask how he’s doing AS AN ADULT SHOULD, she drowns in her insecurity and again, wonders why he hasn’t reached out. It isn’t until her brother tells her what happened to MMC’s dad that she chooses to care about anyone other than herself for once. THEN they’re at the funeral and is she concerned about how he’s doing? Of course not because she is so unbearable. She’s telling his mourning sister “I don’t know what we are! I don’t know if he likes me like that”. Fast forward, they have sex again, say they love each other (still 0 chemistry at this point) and later on, she is SHOCKED when he refers to her as his girlfriend. You both just admitted your love for each other, why is this a shocking moment? Disappointing story. I had so much hope for it.

The audiobook itself was certainly flawed. The FMC narrator has extremely poor audio quality. It made it really hard to enjoy the parts from her point of view. In addition, there were moments where an accent was attempted. I would prefer the story without the mimicked accents. They did not sound good. The MMC had great audio quality, but there were some parts left in chapter 34 where he was correcting himself and re-recording. I really liked his voice and he read it very well.

Thank you to NetGalley, Eddy Twice, and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for the ALC in exchange for an honest review!

I listened to the audiobook verision of this and it was a struggle to listen to. The voice actors were not good potraying characters of the opposite gender. The book had a very cute and cheesy plot.

The Pizza Man was a really cute read overall, but I have to admit, there were several moments that almost made me DNF. The main character's immaturity and naive mindset were so prominent early on that it became hard to stay invested. She constantly spiraled into these internal monologues—wondering why he hadn't called, debating if she should reach out, and questioning whether she was just a one-night stand. It had that “main character syndrome” vibe, where everything revolved around her emotional perception of the situation. Honestly, it grated on me more than once, and I found myself rolling my eyes or putting the book down in frustration.

That said, there was a bit of growth from her by the end, and I started to wonder if the author intentionally crafted her that way to show a deeper transformation. If that was the case—well played. It ended up feeling a little more deliberate than accidental. Even still, I found myself much more invested in his storyline than hers. While she came off immature and self-centered for a good chunk of the book, he brought depth and emotional weight that kept me turning the pages. In the end, it was a light romance with some good moments, but the journey there was definitely a bit bumpy.

Poorly executed plot. I found the fmc extremely unlikeable. The crash out and attitude around her virginity was so cringy. I should have dnf after they slept together, but it was so short that I pushed thru.

The Pizza Man had a fun premise and sweet moments between the leads. I appreciated the light, easy read and the mix of heart and a touch of mystery. While I enjoyed the overall idea, I found myself wishing for more development in the romance and characters to really connect with their journey.

Cute but Forgettable

This book was light and cute, but ultimately just okay for me. I finished it about a week ago and honestly had to skim back through to remind myself of the plot - it didn’t leave a strong impression.

The story follows Bella, a marketing consultant stuck in a toxic job she can’t afford to leave because she’s helping cover her mom’s medical expenses. Enter Joe - a pizza-suit-wearing dreamer trying to launch his own restaurant and carve out a path separate from his wealthy, overbearing family. Their worlds literally collide on the street, and from there they keep running into each other in increasingly charming, rom-com ways.

The premise had a lot of potential, and I enjoyed the neighborhood, slow-burn vibes. There were some sweet moments and good chemistry in the second half once the romance finally started to take shape. Fate definitely played a role in bringing these two together.

That said, the first half felt a bit scattered, and the pacing didn’t hook me early on. My biggest critique is the lack of character depth. Bella and Joe felt a little flat and unrelatable at times, which made it hard to get fully invested in their journey. The narration also struggled to carry emotional weight because the characters weren’t fully fleshed out.

There were also a lot of secondary characters, some of whom felt more like distractions than valuable parts of the story. It was sometimes hard to keep track of who was who and why they mattered. And on a personal note - hearing the phrase “I could care less” will always grate on me.

Overall, it’s a sweet, easy read with a feel-good vibe, but nothing I’d rush to recommend or reread. If you're looking for a low-stakes rom-com to fill a lazy afternoon, this might do the trick - just don’t expect anything especially memorable.

I sadly had to DNF this at 18%. I wasn't vibing with the characters, plot or the audio, if I'm being completely honest. I wanted to read this based off the description because it seemed like it'd be a cozy rom-com but for shorter length book, this far into it I hoped the plot to amped up. Bella's narrator left more to be desired and didn't bring the emotion that I felt her character needed. Joe's narrator was great and I enjoyed listening to his chapters.

🎧Audio Book Review🎧


The Pizza Man
Eddy Twice

🌟🌟🌟🌟

I was instantly drawn to this one as soon as I spotted the name - who doesn't need a bit of pizza in their life !?
But as soon as I saw this cute front cover too, I was completely sold!

I absolutely loved our characters, Bella and Joe.
Despite Joe's background, I found them both to be so relatable and that made it easy for me to become immersed in their individual stories and of course to root for them as a couple throughout too.

This was a bit of a slow burn, but there was so much else going on that it still felt as though I was skipping through the pages and racing towards the ending.
I just couldn't put this down.

I really liked that there was some conflict along the way, but that this didn't completely blow up.
Each event was easily explained away and that was it, sorted and move swiftly on.
I found this quite refreshing as so many romances dwell on these areas and I find that frustrating at times.

The dual pov format worked really well here and allowed us to really get to know both Joe and Bella fully.
I love getting right into our characters heads and exploring their feelings, fears and inner monologues.
The dual narration really enhanced this aspect.

It was also nice to see other family characters throughout.
These were all well developed and not just sitting around the edges of the romance.
I could see some scope for a sequel maybe?

There's a little touch of spice in here. This was well written and in keeping with the tone of the book, whilst also progressing the relationship perfectly.

A great read which I devoured in just one day.




💕Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my ARC copy - this is my honest review 💕

The Pizza Man was a predictable rom-com, basic at best. The storyline was heavier on the romance than the comedy (I think I laughed maybe once). An undercover billionaire who owns a pizza shop falls for a corporate girlie suffering from burnout. The FMC (Bella) annoyed me, and I wanted her chapters to come to a speedy end. I am not a massive fan of the poor me, constant negativity mentality. However, the end of the book came to a nice end, wrapping everything in a pretty bow.

I listened to the audio version of this book, and that may have been a huge downfall. The narrators had multiple accents that ended up being too much or seemed like they were trying too hard. There were a few sentences that were repeated in the audio as well. But all of that being said, I hope Eddy Twice continues to write and hone the craft of writing. There's potential here.

Bella works so hard at an advertising agency, but becomes distracted when Joe, a local restaurant owner, becomes a client. There were two timelines, which got a bit confusing at times. Joe was a great MMC - I love when he falls first!

There were a couple cringey moments (after they sleep together for the first time, angst about not being called back despite the MMC having a very good reason to be out of touch), but overall, it was cute.

The narration was excellent by David Hoskin. AJ Wilder did not always seem to be as in-character, with some variance in voice and pitch, but overall, enjoyable and fun to listen to.

Thank you to Victory Editing and NetGalley for the chance to provide an honest review in exchange for early access to this audiobook.

The Pizza Man by Eddy Twice narrated by David Hoskin and A.J. Wilder is a contemporary romance that follows Bella an overworked and unappreciated advertising agent and Joe a shy pizza restaurant owner that isn’t what he seems. The narrators really let the characters shine! However, AJ’s audio was a bit more on the quiet/muffled side which is a shame because I loved how much they made Bella come to life. While I enjoyed the narration, the story wasn’t extremely stand-out to me and some of it felt rushed at the end. The story was (no pun intended) cheesier than I’m interested in personally, but that may appeal to quite a few people out there.

The woman's recording audio quality was much lesser than the man's, which is distracting.
The writing did not appeal to me, making for an unenjoyable experience.

Thank you to NetGalley for this early copy of this audiobook.

Unfortunately for me, this was not what I was expecting and not what was advertised. I’m not sure why it says it’s a short story/erotica because it was still an almost 8 hour audiobook and there were only a few spicy scenes. I think the descriptor words on this book are off. I requested this book based off of the way it was advertised and the cute cover.

Despite the cute cover this book was pretty meh. I found myself speeding up the audio just to get it done. I didn’t care for the narrators and the books was just overall boring for me. I’m sorry to leave such a harsh review but this one just didn’t work for me.

Thank you netgalley for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

This was a cute premise but it didn't work for me. Also I dont think the category was correct, it said novella but the audiobook was like 7-8 hours.

While this came out in June I was sent the audio from NetGalley to review. The views below are my honest opinion.

I wanted to like this story the overall plot was cute. We do love a billionaire romance. However there were so many side plots and side stories and dialogue it was confusing even with audio and different voices. It was like a whiplash telling back and forth in time to get both peoples perspective. I feel like it was super short and missing completeness for characters and back stories and instead just had a bunch of talking.

The narration wasn’t bad but I wasn’t connected. I don’t think this one was for me.

I enjoyed the story of this book. It made me think of a movie from I believe the 80’s where a pizza delivery boy delivers pizza to older women. I enjoyed the storyline and getting to know the main characters. It was clean romance. I was not a fan of the female narrator, her voice seemed muffled, something was off. Bella seemed okay but selfish at some points. Joe was hardworking! Overall it was okay.