This was my first title by Mazey Eddings. I liked the storyline and her style of writing (use of literary devices). The story is witty and some parts are comical. There are parts of the story that are pretty racy and colourfully descriptive. There’s an author’s note at the beginning of the book alerting the reader to the subject matter woven into the story. However, what the author’s note doesn’t mention, and what I struggled with, is just how much crude language is used and the unnecessary, over abundance of ‘f bombs’ - it just seemed excessive.
The narration of the audiobook is done by Ariela Crow and is well executed-it’s clear, well paced with consistent voice portrayals and easily listened to (you just have to get past the language). (2.5/5)
Thank You to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio/ St. Martin’s Press for the early audiobook widget for WELL, ACTUALLY.

This one was not really for me. I should have known from the start but that's on me I guess. I won't be rereading this one.

I’ll start out with the things I loved. The banter between Eva, our heroine, and Rylie, our hero, was amazing! The writing was also fantastic. There was good character growth and conflict. Lots of great stuff in this book. Our characters are social media influencers. Rylie is a bit more popular than Eva.
Eve has a little bit of an issue with that throughout the book.
Eva calls out her ex on social media and it goes viral overnight . This is where the fun begins. Rylie takes Eva on a few dates to make up for the past.
The narrator, Ariela Crow, had a wonderful voice! She voiced Eva perfectly. She also had the best male voice. She made Rylie sound hot and sexy with a deep, sultry voice. So yummy!
I did struggle a bit with Eva. I felt like she yelled at Rylie all the time. The guy was just trying to please her. She spends a significant amount of time yelling at him about the past. A past he explains over and over why he did what he did and she just can’t get past it. Again, I get it. Characters have to face the past in order to move forward. It just seems like Eva rehashes the same thing over and over. Otherwise, I enjoyed the audiobook. I received this book from Macmillan Audio and Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

OK!!! Let's start with the dedication, and if you're not sold by that, then keep reading for my review.

"Hot Girl/hAHt gurl/ n. 1. a state of being irrelevant of appearance, gender identity, or age 2. a mindset found at the intersection of empowerment, enthusiasm, anger, freedom, excitement, defiance, and happiness (from the personal dictionary of Mazey Eddings)
To all the Hot Girls, especially those that rise to the occasion when men need to be taken down a notch."

What an incredible dedication and it is SO fitting for the book, holy moly. Well, Actually is giving early 2000s rom-com vibes and y'all know I love those kind of vibes. It reminded me of First Time Caller and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. So I mean, what are you waiting for?!

Well, Actually feels like such a current book - between the social media aspects (like stitching videos), journalism and influencers. It all felt relatable and familiar, especially the bits on videos going viral 👀.

EVA. This girl is so funny, I was constantly laughing at the things she said. Her whole persona is "mean girl", especially for her segment for Sausage Talk. It was refreshing seeing her let down her guards a bit and allow herself to be more emotional, more sensitive.

RYLIE. Good god. His crew neck sweater collection is probably my favorite thing about him. I want every single one 😂. I didn't know how to feel about him at first, but he really grew on me!! He was such a sweetie and I loved his banter with Eva. The two of them really balanced eachother out but also bounced off eachother if that makes any sense.

Special note for the nicknames in this book: Kitten & Baby Girl. Can you guess which is for Eva and which is for Rylie? 😂

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced listening copy of Well, Actually in exchange for my honest opinion. Well, Actually will be released to retailers on August 5, 2025.

Well, Actually had me in mixed feelings. I absolutely loved the plot. I loved the MMC and the side characters. However, the MMC and the villains just drove me insane. Eva was so whiny I couldn’t focus on her good. She should have quit that job years before she was wrongly fired. The last 10% of the book vindicated the whole book. It made me like the MMC and side characters a whole lot more, and Eva finally got some balls and gumption. The star of this book, and the main reason I gave it 4 stars on NetGalley and Goodreads, is Rylie. He was the star of the show. Literally and figuratively. His golden retriever energy and confidence made the book. I loved him; loved his storyline, and loved how he showed Eva the correct way to be loved AND gave her confidence to stand up to her bosses.

The narrator, Ariela Crow, is another highlight of this audiobook. Her male voices (and spicy scenes) were on point and she brought to life the whiny nature of Eva. This is the latest of books I’ve listened to where she’s the narrator and she delivers every time.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and will recommend it to fellow readers as a head audiobook. I will give the statement that the ending is worth it all!

Okay I could not get enough of this book. & Riley Cooper?? ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

First, let’s give @arielacrow her flowers for this audio performance because she was phenomenal 🙌🏼

Well, Actually is an entertaining and laugh out loud funny story that also has depth. I loved @mazeyeddings writing! Our FMC will probably be deemed unlikeable (and sometimes she is but aren’t we all?).

This book will make you feel everything and is entertaining and endearing at the same time.

I wish we got a little more of the characters at the end and a where are they now, but I’m hoping maybe this means we’ll just get another book 🤪

Definitely recommend checking this one, it’ll be on store shelves tomorrow 8/5

This felt like Bobbi Althoff meets Emma Chamberlain with a sprinkle of Chicken Shop Date awkwardness. It’s got podcast girlies, social media drama, and an ex boyfriend redemption arc all wrapped into one.

Eva, the FMC, ends up hosting Sausage Talk, a show where she interviews B-list celebs over sad hot dogs. Her big break comes after she post a video of her drunkenly dragging her college ex, Rylie Cooper🤩🤩 who just so happens to be a beloved internet heartthrob preaching about dismantling toxic masculinity. Of course it goes insanely viral.

Rylie then shows up on her show and basically proposes a PR scheme: a series of fake dates where they “heal” and reflect on their past relationship for the camera. Eva agrees, not because she wants to make nice but to further her career and publicly roast him some more. But the more they fake it, the more it starts to feel… not so fake.

As much as I wanted to love her… Eva’s not gonna be everyone’s cup of tea. For me personally, she was too mean and rude in a way that didn’t always feel justified. I love a messy woman, but whew. It was hard to root for her sometimes.

BUT COOPER. God bless Cooper and his slutty lil glasses. He had the patience of a saint and the charm of a golden retriever boyfriend. He’s the reason I didn’t DNF this book.

Thank you netgalley for the arc 🫶🏼

I feel conflicted on this one, the start was fun and I was enjoying it but it did start to fizzle out and I found myself not as interested in picking it back up the further in I went. So it was fine overall and maybe it had to do with me picking this up when I just wasn’t fully in the mood for contemporary.

This is a second chance romance between two now popular podcasters who formerly hooked up in college (and it didn’t go well). She basically has a podcast job similar to chicken shop date but interviewing celebs while eating hot dogs, and he has a podcast where he’s breaking down toxic masculinity. She gets drunk one night and on her personal page calls out him for their college split, it goes viral, and her management/producers want to capitalize on that and have her interview him on the show and it goes from there.

Now listen I love chicken shop date but this kinda felt weird in being too similar and the pop culture references weren’t my fav (those never work for me in books). This is black cat x golden retriever, where the hero is pretty much perfect already on paper which I just don’t love. I’d rather have seen his character growing and going through things instead of being fully perfect already. Their nicknames also just always took me out and didn’t work for me. Honestly the more I write this review the less I realized I liked this one so I guess I’ll stop there. Anyways, cute cover and the premise sounded fun in theory.

I received an audio ALC from the publisher, all thoughts in this review are my own.

Well, Actually is an enemies to lovers second chance contemporary romance about a struggling journalist and a social media podcaster. Their past includes some problematic behavior that is fortunately addressed head on. There are times when both characters do not treat each other right, but they do communicate well (🙌). Throughout the book there are many moments of raw vulnerability and an overall focus on mental health and acceptance of self.

I liked the audiobook narration and though I much prefer this narrator’s female voice, she knocked the banter out of the park.

Overall I give this one 4 stars. It wasn’t pure fluff, but for me it works as a nice quick buffer between heavier reads.

Thank you to MacMillan Audio for the ALC..

4.5 rounded up! This was so much fun! Definitely my favorite Mazey Eddings book I’ve read so far. Eva was a witty, likable, and funny narrator but RILEYYYYY stole the show for me. MY MAN MY MAN. I loved how willing he was to own up to his past mistakes and how sweet and honest and communicative he was during this new iteration of their relationship. He (thank God) challenged and pushed past against Eva’s frustrating stubbornness and was super clear about his feelings with her. NO THIRD ACT BREAKUP WE ALL CHEER. Any romance that is able to avoid the third act breakup by finding other sources of conflict for the ending is a win in my book. I will say that this book seemed a teeny bit on the long side, I think some of the smut scenes could’ve been cut down, surprisingly,

Also loved the narrator for this one! Will definitely look for more from her in the future.

Well this was an absolute delight!

I love, love, LOVED Riley! He was just the perfect man for Eva. And Eva, our black cat leading lady, she was such a hoot.

The relationship between these two was filled with tension and banter and chemistry and I just loved watching their relationship bloom.

Eva & Riley
Black cat x golden retriever
Hate to love
Workplace
Second chance
Bi x pan rep

In the beginning, Well, Actually definitely had me thinking about the Chicken Shop Date except she eats hot dogs. I liked how modern this book felt with social media fame and the highs and lows that come with that. It showed how invasive and problematic it can be. I really enjoyed that aspect!

Eva, the FMC, will not be for everyone. Her snarky comments are her way of protecting herself. She is guarded and I don’t blame her for it. I think some readers will relate to her in a big way and some won’t like her at all. I personally liked that she wasn’t super likable because it made her feel more real and relatable. Rylie, the MMC, understands her and that’s why he’s amazing. I loved their back and forth banter so much! I loved how supportive he was. He knew when Eva needed a push to get out of her head.
I still don’t love the nickname kitten though. 😝

This was a fun read. If you like a black cat FMC and a golden retriever MMC then I would definitely recommend.
🎧
I listened to the audiobook while following along with my digital copy. Ariela Crow did an amazing job with this solo narration. She not only changed her voice for other characters but she changed her voice for different emotions too. It really helped you feel everything Eva was feeling in the moment. Highly recommend if you enjoy audiobooks. 💕
5 stars for narration.

Step aside Tilly, Well, Actually just became my new favourite Mazey Eddings book.

This book was raw. emotional. hilarious. emotional. HOT. emotional.

I don't always connect super well with a grumpy FMC, but my god this was perfect.
The banter was top tier. I will always be down bad for insults as foreplay.

I loved that even though this was single POV, it was still so obvious that this man was obsessed with her and she was living in a deep well of denial.

Their character growth and development was perfection, and believable.

The switch up from their first date to the other date (sorry trying to avoid spoilers) was utterly unhinged in the best possible way.

My thoughts are kind of scattered all over the place, but I absolutely loved this book and it will probably be on my top reads of the year list.

Shout out to Ariela Crow. She absolutely crushed the narration on this one while carrying it all on her own since it was single POV. I felt every emotion because of her flawless performance.

Thank you so much to Macmillan Audio for the ALC.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for my gifted copies. All opinions are my own.

I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve read by Mazey Eddings, but Well, Actually is a new favorite!

I absolutely adored (and binged) Eva and Rylie’s story. They had a brief fling in college and Rylie ghosted Eva. He’s now a semi-famous podcaster. Eva shares a brief video of their previous relationship on her social media and suddenly they’re filming her show together and agreeing to a few dates.

The banger and chemistry between Rylie and Eva was off the charts! She loved o tease him and he was so down bad for her! I always appreciate the mental health representation in Eddings’ books and how Rylie shares his journey since college. This also deals with the challenges women face in the workplace.

There was a little bit of slow burn in their relationship build up and I loved it! I alternated between the audiobook and ebook because I didn’t want to stop reading. This will one hundred percent be a top favorite book of 2025!

Audio review - Ariela Crow did a phenomenal job narrating this story and providing the voice for each character. I really enjoyed the performance and think that audio is a great way to experience this story as it perfectly captures the humor and helps with the pacing of the story.

Book content review - Well, Actually by Mazey Eddings is the third book I’ve read by her, and I can clearly see the growth she’s made as a writer. I appreciated the difficult topics she tackled in this novel—misogyny, workplace sexism, bullying, internalized trauma, and diverse queer representation.

Eva is one of the most unlikable female characters I’ve encountered, and I say that as a compliment—I genuinely love a heroine who appears unlikable on the surface but has hidden deeper motivations. Eddings wrote Eva in an unapologetically honest way, giving her space to be blunt and even unflinchingly mean at times. Yet she also ensured that the very traits that made Eva feel self-conscious or less palatable to others were the same ones Rylie found attractive. He consistently praised her, lifted her up, and never let those qualities come between them. I loved his earnestness so much as he worked to mend their history and as he shared/faced his own personal trauma.

I didn’t connect with the social media plotline, but on a character level—and as a romance—I really enjoyed the second-chance love story between Eva and Rylie. I was especially happy with the growth each character showed as they confronted past mistakes and did the work to move forward in the present toward a positive future.

Excellent audio! The narrator was perfect for Eva. I felt they captured ALL of her emotions and wild energy. Definitely recommend that format.

Full Review:

Eva Kitt is the host of a sarcasm-heavy, internet-based chat show called Sausage Talk, where she interviews B-List celebs while noshing on hot dogs. While she once dreamed of a serious career in journalism, that's not how it worked out. She's here now and she's trying to do her best, even though it seems like the world may sometimes be against her career advancement.

Riley Cooper is the guy who broke her heart in college. Not just broke it, shattered it and danced on the pieces. He's also a beloved social media personality, where he hosts a show on deconstructing toxic masculinity. After a few too many cocktails, Eva watches one of his annoyingly-successful vids, and is disgusted he gets away with peddling lies. Thus, she makes her own scathing review of Riley's work and character; as you do. She doesn't have that many followers on her accounts. No one is going to see it, or take it seriously.

IT GOES VIRAL...and she said some things!!

Eva finds herself raked over the coals by her bosses, but then she's given an opportunity to redeem herself. All she has to do is reach out to Riley and interview him on her show. Eva would rather do anything, seriously ANYTHING, but that, but with her career on the line, she's forced into the interview, where she finds Riley as handsome and devilishly-charming as before.

When he suggests that she allow him to take her on a series of six dates to make up for the past, all of which will be followed via social media, she begrudgingly accepts. It has nothing to do with him. She's thinking of her career here...As the dates progress, the two begin to relate to one another in unexpected ways. Did Eva have it wrong? Is the boy that broke her heart, suddenly the man that she needs to heal it?

Y'all, Mazey Eddings is a go-to Romance author for me, and this novel is the perfect example of why. I was immediately pulled in by the humor, banter and quick, yet thorough, character development. The set-up is so fun. I enjoy stories involving celebrities of any kind, and Rylie was definitely giving off those celeb status vibes. I also loved the concept of the 6-dates for him to redeem himself to her. Each date was unique and helped to progress their relationship.

Eva was giving off major Bobbi Althoff vibes. I'm not sure if that was intentional or not, but it was seriously all I could think of. She did get a little frustrating at times, Riley was definitely the star of the show for me, but I did feel like Eva's character showed some real growth over the course of the story.

I like how Eddings always has characters that are going through some fairly serious, and common, real-life issues. I like watching people work through challenges like that, and to see them open up and receive help from others in regards to those issues. That's life, right? It always gives the stories a bit more of a believable feel to me. No one is perfect, no one's life is perfect, and I like the see the messy day-to-day things pulled through into my fiction. Maybe it helps me feel not so alone, IDK.

This is also super steamy. So we have the serious life stuff, but we also have some wild, toe-curling, giggling and swooning bedroom stuff. That's a nice mix. I would recommend this to any Romance Reader, particularly if you have read from Eddings in the past and enjoyed. There's so much to love within this story.

Thank you to the publisher, St. Martin's Griffin and Macmillan Audio, for providing me copies to read and review. Eddings has crush another one! Well done!

Thank you #macaudio2025, NetGalley, and Mazey Eddings for the opportunity to listen to this ALC. This was a Black Cat x Golden Retriever through and through and it was such fun. I appreciated that it used humor to tackle realities of being a woman in media and that it didn’t shy away from the fact that people have pasts and that sometimes we do stuff that we do later actually regret. The story itself was entertaining and at times emotional, the characters were endearing and the end was a great payoff. The narration was so well done, I really felt like the voices fit, the vibes fit and it felt like I was right there in the mix with these people.

eva kitt had big dreams of becoming an important journalist. interviewing b-list celebrities on a show called sausage talk definitely wasn’t on her to-do list to get to that point, but hey, it pays the bills for now while she can work her way up and write on the side. she’s put in the spotlight, though, when her impromptu callout of her college ex goes viral. the ex in question, rylie cooper, has built a platform on deconstructing toxic masculinity and teaching men how to be good partners. he wants to prove to eva, and everyone else, that he’s changed since college, so he convinces her to go on a series of dates then debrief on his show. with pressure from her higher-ups, eva agrees, but she refuses to play nice. as she looks for his flaws, she soon realizes he may have grown up, after all.

this was such a lovely blend of personal issues and romance, which i love to see in romance books. though rylie didn’t have his own pov, he was still fully fleshed-out as a character, which can be hard to do, so props to eddings for that! eva was also such an amazing character. her show and personality during the interviews reminded me of amelia dimoldenberg from chicken shop date. the two of them had so much internal hurt, but as the book progressed, their communication became so beautifully open. miscommunication is a big pet peeve of mine, so i loved how hard these two worked to talk things out. i highly recommend this book to anyone interested in a second-chance, b-list celebrity romance. the audiobook, narrated by ariela crow, was especially lovely! i hope to read more narrated by her in the future.

“𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐈’𝐯𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐞𝐭.”
“𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮.” 𝐈 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐚 𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐬. “𝐌𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐈’𝐯𝐞 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫.”
“𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭,” 𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐫𝐦𝐮𝐫𝐬. “𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐲 𝐦𝐞.” 𝐌𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐩 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐡𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐦𝐞 𝐈’𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐮𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥.

This book was so much fun. Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the e-ARC and ALC. I LOVED the audio. Ariela Crow is a fabulous narrator and her "guy" voice is superb! 5 stars for that alone!

Our FMC Eva is working at a dead end job eating hot dogs and interviewing celebrities. When she drinks too much one night she see's a video of her college fling Rylie Cooper talking about positive masculinity and Eva makes a counter video eviscerating him, because she only remembered him giving her 4 minutes of lousy sex and ghosting her.

It goes viral, of course, and both Cooper and her company see an opportunity for them to make everyone money. They stage dates, and podcasts together, and it's clear that Cooper has been yearning for Eva for a very long time.

“𝐀 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐈’𝐦 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫. 𝐆𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐱 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮.”
“𝐅*𝐜𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟.” 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐬𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐈 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐩 𝐚 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐭. 𝐂𝐨𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫’𝐬 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐥𝐞.
“𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐫 𝐈 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮.”

There is a LOT of lustful loathing. Eva throws barb on barb at Cooper and he loves their sparring.

“𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐚 𝐛𝐚𝐝 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐞.”
“𝐃𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭,” 𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐬, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫. “𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬.”

“𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞. 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐬. 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐞. 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞.”

“𝐍𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐞.”
“𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐲."

It was also rather spicy once the spice got going....

“𝐃𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟, 𝐄𝐯𝐚. 𝐅*𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐦𝐞.”

𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐈’𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐥,” 𝐈 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐫. “𝐁𝐞 𝐚 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐛𝐨𝐲 𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈’𝐥𝐥 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐞𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐬 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫.”
“𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐞, 𝐊𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧,” 𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐫𝐦𝐮𝐫𝐬. “𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭.”

𝐒𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐬. 𝐑𝐲𝐥𝐢𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩*𝐬𝐬𝐲.

Needles to say, I loved it. It was spicy and romantic and I love a traditionally unlikeable female character that is loved by another character for exactly who she is. Cooper never wanted to make her softer or nicer. He just loves her. Highly recommend!

5⭐️ gahhhhh this was perfect 🥹

Eva feeling like she’s difficult to love, & the way Cooper is soooo down bad for her 😭

Thank you St. Martin’s Press for the ARC & MacMillan Audio for the ALC. All opinions are my own.

✦ tropes & stuff:
💫 second chance
💔 hate to love
🐈‍⬛ black cat x golden retriever
🌭 workplace (podcaster x interviewer/host of “Sausage Talk”)
🥸 fake(ish) dating
💙 he falls first (OBSESSED)
🧠 mental health rep
🌈 bi x pan rep
💖 single 1st person pov/single narration

•┈••✦ review ✦••┈•

🎧 audio+ebook | ⭐️: 5 | 🌶️: 3 |

I loved everything about this.

Their banter was absolutely TOP TIER my goodness 👌🏼 and Eva’s inner dialogue was absolutely hilarious.
I loved her entire being.

Loved their nicknames for each other - her calling him “baby girl” and him calling her “Kitten” or “little demon” 🤭 how she *hates* it but really loves it

You can tell Eva is a girl with a tough exterior while inside she’s just heartbroken, wanting and deserving to be loved for who she is, and NOT HAVE TO CHANGE A SINGLE THING ABOUT HER! 💔

Cooper showing Eva that someone could be there for her, and not abandon her or leave, or find her to be “too much” 🥹🥹🥹

🎧 audiobook thoughts:
Ariela Crowe is the PERFECT Eva - she captured her spunky personality and heart so well!
I wasn’t a huge fan of her “man voice” but that is often a struggle for me with a single narrator.