Audiobook ARC generously provided by Macmillan Audio in exchange for an honest review. Thank you so much!
Publication: August 5

Listen, I am a sucker for the grumpy sunshine troupe. I always eat it up. But when the reverse grumpy sunshine hits? It slaps 👏👏👏 literal chefs kiss 👌
I adored Eva with all of her layers and complexities. I can understand her motives, her self doubts, moments of hesitation & fears, and why she acts and is the way she is. And I love her for it. And I love her even more when she trusts Rylie to break down her walls and to be vulnerable even when it’s hard and scary.
My bisexual soul is definitely in love with both the FMC and the MMC in this book, and honestly, that doesn’t happen very often.
I also love when a man has to WORK for it, and damn does Rylie Cooper have to earn Eva, this feisty black cat’s, trust (and the nickname Kitten? 🐈‍⬛ 👌🥰)
Rylie is just precious ☺️💖

Also, narrator Ariela Crow killed it 🙌

Other wonderful things in this book:
Men in therapy ✅
Men feeling their feelings 🥰
(Positive, subtle, honest & messy) Bisexual & pansexual (and overall Queer) rep💕 ✅
Vulnerability & growth 🙌
Tickle fights that lead to sex? 😉
He💥 from eating her🐱
No third act breakup 🎉
Good, continual & tough communication 👏🙌

✨
Some of my favourite quotes 🥰 (beware for spoilers without context!):

“I deserve softness, goddammit. I deserve tender moments and gentle caresses and whispered sweet nothings. I deserve someone, somewhere, wanting to like me for me and not the hardened veneer I gloss my vulnerability with.”

“Why was I so easy to leave? What is it about me that's so simple to forget? Recitals and parent-teacher conferences and important dates and milestones where I'm left alone on the curb with my heart in my hand desperately wishing someone thought I was important enough to remember.”

“Because I fucked it up once and I saw a second chance. Because now I'm so deep in this I would crawl through hell on my hands and knees over a bed of broken glass before I let you go again."
…
"So I'm here," he says slowly, keeping his eyes locked on mine, "to check on you. I'm here, despite being fucking furious at you for leaving like you did last night, because I was worried about you. I wanted to make sure you're okay. And if you're not, I wanted to see what I could do to make things better."

“Realising your parents are human is a devastating thing… I didn’t know what it meant to be a man, let alone a partner.”

“Feeling useless and directionless and like you aren't keeping up is kind of the entire point of your twenties. Everything is ass all the time and all we can do is lean on each other through it, not compare ourselves moment to moment."

“I'm yours. It's okay to be afraid. I'll be brave for us both until you learn to trust it. Trust me." He places a kiss to my temple. "Let me prove it to you." Another on the tip of my sniffling nose. "Let me take care of you." A hot, gentle brush across my lips. "Let me love you."

Well , Actually…… this was an absolute BANGER!!!

Mazey Eddings is back with another masterpiece. I absolutely loved every second of this book. The characters were so relatable. The representation was amazing throughout.

THE BANTER IS BANTERING!!!!! You will be non stop laughing and sweating. 😅

5 stars go ahead and add it to your tbr now , bbygirl!

The narrator was absolutely amazing!!!

Overall, I liked the book. The spice was well written, and the story had substance beyond the spice. The therapy session ripped me apart, in a good way. I loved the power move ending.

I’m uncomfortable with the whole insults as a love language thing, which lowered the rating a bit. I also feel like Ava’s family-based insecurities were a huge focus then disappeared 2/3rd of the way through. Then there were the similes and metaphors. So many similes and metaphors.

3.5⭐️
Pub Date 8/5

#WellActually
#MazeyEddings
#NetGalley
#MacmillanAudio

I love the authors previous books but struggled to get into this one. The diversity of the characters felt forced. I felt like the author was trying to hard to be trendy and it failed for me.

I listened to this one and it was so much fun. I found myself smiling and giggling throughout.

Ariela Crow’s narration was multifaceted and energetic. I prefer a little bit of “acting” when I’m listening to an audiobook, and not just a dull reading of words. This is a great example of emotion being injected into the story and holding the reader’s attention. A bad narrator can make a great story boring and vice-versa.

Tropes include: <i>Black Cat/Golden Retriever, Second Chance, Enemies to Lovers, Workplace(ish) Romance, Cinnamon Roll Hero</i>

The concept of “Sausage Talk” is giving “Chicken Shop Date” and reminded me a little of “Hot Ones” too. Food interview shows, ya know? Kind of a fun concept for a book. And the title? A+, perfect for this book.

Eva is my favorite type of humor: dry, witty, and not afraid to take stabs at toxic masculinity. Insinuate he has small feet? You better believe a man is about to get offended, which is ✨hilarious✨ imo. She’s got walls a mile high, which means she comes off as icy, but I think everyone can see a little bit of themselves in Eva, even if she rubs you the wrong way. Sometimes, you only feel comfortable softening in front of people who make you feel safe.

Rylie is such a sweetie and the definition of positive change in a person. We love a man who isn’t afraid to feel and who advocates for therapy. His unwavering support for Eva is admirable and the fact that he’s carried a small torch for six years for her is freaking so cute. He continuously and consistently shows up for her. He’s down baaaaad which is really the only way to be about a woman if you ask me. The man can give as good as he takes, too. A woman with a quick wit needs an equal sparring partner and he fits the bill. We need more Rylies in the world.

Like - !?!? <i>“I want you contrarian and difficult and keeping me on my toes. I want your sour moods just as much as I want your sunny ones. I'm not asking you to change. You can call me any name you want, as long as I can call you mine."</i>

And the spice? Agh - praise central, compliments galore, and the rest? Hot hot hot 🔥 Always down for a man who enjoys himself just a <i>little too much</i> while down on his knees 😉

Some details I loved:
• Couples therapy as a date 🙊
• “You’re dressed like a bruise”
• The banter 🥵😮‍💨
• “You terrify me”
• All of Rylie’s blushing and flushing 🤗
• The cover! So good 💕

It wasn’t a perfect story, of course. I didn’t love the complete roll-over Eva had when confronted by her bosses. I felt like she was such a strong heroine, so to see her crumble in the face of authority just didn’t seem to fit. <i>But</i> I kind of get it because she really did see her job as her career path to something bigger. I was just hoping that her character development would include her realizing that wasn’t the only way forward. She got there eventually, but that reaction felt off.

I wasn’t a fan of the “best friend” who felt more like a fair weather friend, if anything. She kind of redeems herself but like… ehhh.

Anyways, definitely a good one if you’re looking for a laugh and a man obsessed!


The Basics:
Content Creator/Podcast Host🎙️// Podcast Host/Journalist 📝
1st Person Single POV
Standalone
Narrated by: Ariela Crow
HEA 🖤
🌶️🌶️🌶️/5
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Thank you to NetGalley & Macmillan Audio for the ALC 🤍🎧

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and Mazey Eddings for the chance to listen to Well, Actually. This was my first book by the author but definitely not the last!
This story followed Eva and Riley. The story caught me in quickly and I was hooked, After Eva makes a drunken mistake, we follow along her journey with Riley and her job. The banter between the two of them was seriously 'chef's kiss'! I really enjoyed all the ups and downs.

The narrator did an OUTSTANDING job!

4.5 stars

Thank you @youhadmeathea @macmillan.audio and @netgalley for my free e-arc and alc 💖.

✨What it is about:
Eva Kitt’s stuck hosting a hot dog talk show instead of chasing her journalism dreams, until a viral call-out of her ex, influencer Rylie Cooper, puts her in the spotlight. To save face, Rylie proposes they go on public dates to prove he’s changed, and Eva agrees, mostly to roast him and boost her own career. But as the fake dates start to feel real, Eva wonders if the guy who once broke her heart might actually deserve a second chance.✨

💭My thoughts:
This was such a fun read, super entertaining and full of heart. Mazey really nailed it with the characters and the emotional layers of the story. I loved the tension between the main characters, all the over the top antics, and the hilarious moments mixed in with the deeper, more vulnerable ones. Oh, and it was spicy too! Mazey definitely knows how to turn up the heat.
🎧 The audiobook was 11 hours and 33 minutes, narrated by Ariela Crow. She was great, really engaging and brought the witty dialogue to life. She also did an awesome job with the character voices; they were all easy to tell apart and felt super distinct. I listened to the audio while reading the e-book and it was a lot of fun.

4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Read if you like:
👩‍💻Second chance romance
👩‍💻Fake dating
👩‍💻Black cat MFC & Golden retriever MMC
👩‍💻Witty banter
👩‍💻Social media
👩‍💻LGTBQ+ rep

⚠️CW: Bullying, car accident, death, grief, abandonment.

Wow what a cute book! I really enjoyed this read. The characters grabbed my attention right off the bat. I really enjoyed the banter between the two main characters and how she didn’t want anything to do with him, but he was trying to make up for how he acted to her years ago. I just really liked their connection and how he kept pursuing her and showing her that he had changed. What a cute quick read! This was an overall fun, flirty and surprisingly interoperative read. Perfect for those that like banter-filled rom-coms with a touch of the emotional depth added in there.

OMG narrator Ariela Crow did such a good job. I was so entranced the entire audio, and she just brought the story to life. I thoroughly enjoyed the audiobook!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC and ALC in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this one quite a bit. I struggled initially to connect to Eva. She had so much anger and zero willingness to hear others out. However, as the story progressed and she was able to shed/confront some of her insecurities, I began to find her much more relatable.

Riley Cooper, on the other hand, was a delight. He modeled perfect boyfriend behavior :)

I also really enjoyed seeing the dynamic play out at Eva’s work. Without spoiling anything, it was a frustrating dynamic to witness, but one that I think still happens more than it should and I think the conversation about hostile workplaces is an important one.

The narrator, Ariela Crow, did a really great job narrating this book. She spoke so clearly and did the voices so well. I say this in every audiobook review I do, but I listen to my audiobooks at a fast speed (usually at 3.0x), but I can generally only do this if the narrator speaks clearly. In this case, I had no issues listening at this rate.

This was a fun read that I definitely recommend. Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for a free ALC in exchange for my honest opinion.

[Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the #gifted audiobook in exchange for my honest opinion.]

I appreciate Eddings giving both Eva and Rylie well-thought out back stories. It's definitely worth giving this story a chance and learning about these characters because it really rounded them out and made it easy to root for them.

And honestly, the second chance romances where both people grew on their own before coming back together are some of my favorite stories.

Eva starts off as this angry, sarcastic character but it quickly becomes obvious that she uses these traits as a shield to protect herself. She has been let down so many times in her life that she now does whatever she can to prevent anyone from getting too close.

Meanwhile, Rylie just eats it all up and says 'Thank You' to Eva. He is just so grateful for a second chance with her that he goes above and beyond with planning their first date. If there was a medal for trying, he would win it. 😂

Normally, when there's a lot of social media mentioned in a book, I worry it will date the story but Eddings kind of dances the line where it's reflective of the current day without being overwhelming (think You've Got Mail and how we now find the AOL log on noises as charming).

The second half wasn’t as strong for me (there’s a lot of smut and the workplace drama pulled me out) but overall, I enjoyed this story. I loved all the LGBT+ representation and that the book is pro-therapy.

Also, Ariela Crow did a really great job narrating. She was easy to listen to and she was able to switch her voice up for each of the characters. I think being able to listen to Eva and Rylie's banter really elevates the experience.

But yeah, if you watch Chicken Shop Date you're probably going to like this book.

I loved this audiobook narrator! I think they did a really good job with the story and with the different voices for the characters especially for Riley. The book wasn’t my favorite but I loved the audiobook.

3.5/5 stars
A sweet second chance romance that felt like the second chance was actually warranted! Two young people with a great connection who found each other at a time when they were too traumatized to handle their connection correctly. The characters felt very real, well fleshed out, and lovable, but flawed. Eva is funny and charming, but impulsive and stubborn. I found myself getting a bit frustrated with Eva’s choices, , but it felt realistic to her character and her mental health struggles. I also loved the queer story lines in this book, I did not know this book would be queer before picking it up, but it was such a joy to have queer story lines in a romance about a heterosexual relationship. Additionally, the narration of this audio book was lovely! So much personality, tone, and uniqueness conveyed in their performance. Overall this was a delightful read and I will definitely be recommending it to my queer & romance book loving friends!
Thank you to Macmillan Audio for providing me with an ARC of the audio book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A black cat/golden retriever second chance romance that is a quick, fun read and will keep you smiling. Definitely perfect for fans of witty banter and charm.

Eva interviews B list stars on her show where they eat hot dogs while she intereviews them but she wants to be a hard hitting journalist. Rylie is a podcaster/influencer who talks about how to be a great boyfriend - but he slept with and ghosted Eva 6 years ago so whenever she hears his content she becomes enraged. Until she shares her feelings about him on a post and it goes viral. Now she is forced to go on dates with him, all for likes and content. Of course there are sparks and it seems like the one who broke her heart may also be the one who steals it.

I was looking for a quick fun romance after the more serious book I had just finished but this one just didn't work as well for me. Honestly I may just be too old for it but I found Eva too harsh and frustrating as a character and just didn't believe the relationship. It's a bit spicy and I did have to turn it off before I walked into SoulCycle because it felt inappropriate to listen while walking into a room with people I knew.

3.5 stars

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the ALC to review

Well, Actually is an interesting blend of enemies-to-lovers, slow burn, and second-chance romance with a modern twist—two social media stars with a complicated past trying to navigate a very public reunion. I loved the witty banter and undeniable chemistry between Eva and Rylie. Their dynamic was fiery, emotional, and layered with years of unresolved tension.

What stood out most was the thoughtful representation of mental health. Eddings never shies away from showing the messy, tender parts of healing, and she does so with depth and care. The conversations around sexuality also felt natural and respectfully handled, adding another important layer to the story.

The spice was exactly what I expected from Mazey Eddings—just the right balance of tension and heat. My only wish? That the story had been told in dual POV. With so much shared history and emotion between Eva and Rylie, hearing both sides would have added even more richness.

The audiobook was well performed and really brought their voices to life. If you enjoy emotionally intelligent romance with heart, heat, and humor, this one’s worth checking out.

I love love love this book. It was so funny. Has just enough emotion, heat and humor to make you want to devour this book in one day. The narrator did an awesome job of bringing Eva to life. 10/10 will be buying a physical trophy ASAP

you know when you start a book and within the first 10% it’s going to be a 5 star read and change your life???? this happened to me with well, actually and i’ll forever be changed.

eva is a pan black cat who takes to the internet one night to trash talk the guy from her college situationship, who happens to be a big time and beloved podcaster, rylie cooper. when her media company wants to use the viral attention to their benefit, she ends up getting sucked into a fake dating-ish situation with rylie trying to make up for ghosting her back in college.

RYLIE IS THE SIMP, PATHETIC, DOWN BAD love boat of my dreams. the soft boy. the one who likes it when she’s mean to him. I adored every single word, glance, and breath this man took. eva is perfect for him and he’s perfect for her. eva is soft deep down and she just needed to get in touch with her emotions when she felt safe to do so. and rylie makes sure she feels safe with him.

the disaster dates, the banter, the character development and hysterical plot had me laughing out loud to the point my husband came to check on me (first time was when eva accidentally voice-to-texted rylie in the shower and the second time was the cork debacle, for those wondering).

I got lost in the pages of this book. I felt seen and loved watching the two of them come together. and not for nothing, there couldn’t have been a better way for the two of them to overcome the third act conflict. I LOVED it.

while this book was incredibly funny, the emotional moments ROCKED me. Eva’s journey was so moving that I literally had tears in my eyes. this is going down as one of my favorite books of the year and a new one I won’t shut up about.

🎧 ariela crew acted this perfectly. she embodied eva, rylie, and all of the characters so well!!! the snark and comedic moments as well as the more emotionally charged ones were so well done. I highly recommend this one on audio.

thank you so much St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for the arc and alc!

This book was so witty and funny. It had great pop culture references without being over the top. The characters had great redemption arcs. I really didn’t like Kitt in the beginning. She was just so extra about hating Cooper. Even when he was trying to explain things, she refused to believe him. Cooped was seriously the perfect book boyfriend.

The narration was amazing. The different voices and inflections used for different characters was prefect.

While I was hopeful for a fun, cutesy romcom, I was unaware there would be such a heavy focus on LGBTQ. I have no issues with this community; however, it's just not what I look for in my romance books. I likely would have skipped this one over if I had known. With that being said, I did enjoy the banter and the MMC's firey personality. I did not like the MMC all that much, but it could be because I listened to this one on audio and was not the biggest fan of the narrator's version of Rylie's voice (too breathy), so that made this a little harder for me to connect with. I am giving this book a 2 star rating because I just could not connect with the characters and overall just struggled to get through the book.

I'm seeing a ton of ARC readers I know really love this book, but it was just okay for me. It was really funny, but there were enough things I didn't love that made me land at 3.5 stars, rounded up for Netgalley.

About this book: Eva Kitt and Rylie Cooper used to date in college. Now Eva hosts a show called "Sausage Talk" where she interviews celebrities, and Rylie is a podcaster known for deconstructing toxic masculinity. When Eva publicly calls out Rylie for ghosting her, her video goes viral, and they end up agreeing to a series of dates for Rylie to make amends, which Eva uses to further her career and defame him.

What a fun concept, right? I liked that she really really hated him, but he was so adamant to make it up to her. I also LOVED that this wasn't dual timeline. They just talked about their memories instead of going back to being in college. Thank you, Mazey. Good choice.

Ariela Crow as the narrator did an incredible job. Unlike a lot of female narrators, I liked the male voice she used for Cooper.

I liked that this was a twist on fake dating, but unique for the storyline.

When this couple got together, there were too many open door scenes, and they were really long. I don't dislike spice, but it wasn't for me because I get a little bored when there are too many and not enough plot.

The emotional depth in this book was really great. I shed a tear or two, which probably has a lot to do with a great narrator.

Read this if you like:
Second chance
Famous main characters
LGBTQ+ rep
Black cat x golden retriever to the max
Hilarious banter
Taking down the patriarchy (Unfortunately they don't get that done in this book, but the vibes are there.)