What a fun read! While this book includes some tropes that aren’t always my favorite (grumpy x sunshine, second-chance romance), I knew I HAD to read it because it’s Mazey Eddings!

This story delivered exactly what I love in contemporary romance—an engaging, feel-good escape with plenty of charm. The chemistry between the main characters was fantastic, and the spice was so well done!

I did find myself occasionally frustrated with the FMC, as she struggled with self-doubt throughout much of the book. I’ve been hoping to see more leading women who truly believe in themselves, but I appreciated the way her journey unfolded and the character development along the way.

Overall, this was an entertaining, unputdownable romance with great emotional depth and a satisfying arc. Fans of Mazey Eddings and contemporary romance will definitely enjoy this one!

4.25 ⭐️’s. Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book. My first my this author, but won’t be my last. Such a good story line that is a little different than other romance books. Enjoyed watching both of them grow together in the book and the incorporation of therapy into getting through the barriers why their first relationship failed. Overall, great easy read.

Honestly I just wasn’t that into this book. It felt unrealistic and it was hard for me to connect with the characters. I usually love Mazy’s books but this one just did not hit for me. I finished it but it was very forgettable. 2/5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and publishers for this arc! Eva and Rylie’s redemption love story was so so fun to read that I couldn’t put the book down easily the past few days. Normally second-chance romances aren’t my thing, but this was done so well maybe they are my thing now?? Well, Actually explores such important topics while balancing romance, career establishment, friendships, and so much more. I absolutely loved this book and will be buying a copy for myself when it hits the shelves August 5th, 2025!

3.5 stars!

honestly, i struggled through the first half, but i flew through the rest! i came to really enjoy eva and rylie's banter, especially after the therapy session, once eva started letting her guard down.

I enjoyed the book for the first 50%, but then it started to fall flat for me. I enjoyed Eva and Rylie because their banter and chemistry was so entertaining and cute. It was a fun start to the read, but then the story kind of started to drag; all of a sudden, the pacing was off. It felt like nothing was happening anymore, everything was a bit drawn-out and repetitive.

I am not sure I was a huge fan of either characters, but I also don't know what I can pinpoint about what I did not like about them. I can understand why Eva acted the way she did not don't know if I was 100% a fan of it. Rylie even at times felt a little boring. Overall not a bad read just not my favorite either.

Thank you St. Martins Press, Mazey Eddings and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this arc!

I’ll start by saying this is the first book I’ve read by this author and while I enjoyed her writing style this book wasn’t for me. I disliked the FMC, Eva, from the beginning. She was immature, mean, and had limited character growth. I know she was supposed to read as funny and witty, but she just came across as sharp and insecure. Rylie helped balance her out. I loved his character and his family backstory broke my heart. I didn’t really connect with the side characters much, but I did like Aida. Towards the end it felt like the plot took a back seat to the spice and then came back just to quickly wrap up. I’m sure there are plenty of people who will love this, but it was unfortunately not for me.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC. I found Well, Actually incredibly difficult to get through. The constant inclusion of TikTok comments throughout the book was distracting and made it hard to enjoy the story. It felt overly focused on social media, which pulled me out of the narrative instead of enhancing it.
The romance wasn’t appealing at all, and I didn’t connect with the characters. The main character, in particular, was unlikable and bitter, making it hard to root for her.
The writing style itself was cringeworthy and didn’t appeal to me. Overall, I didn’t enjoy the book, and it was more frustrating than anything else.
Would not recommend to those looking for a well-written, romance book. This book is not cute or romantic.

This was a 3.5 stars for me! I love Mazey’s writing style and laughed out loud multiple times. I felt that the FMC was a little too mean at times for the MMC and wanted them together sooner. I loved the name switch thing that Mazey did, iykyk. While this one wasn’t my favorite, I still really enjoyed and would recommend to others.

Well, Actually - ARC Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
.
PUB DATE: August 5th
.
FEATURES:
-Adult Contemporary Romance
-Second Chance Romance
-Verbal Sparring
-Snark and Sarcasm
-Podcasters
.
Eva and Cooper dated in college. He was many of her firsts - and then he broke her heart.
.
Now, 6 years later, Eva is forced to work with Cooper for her job… to go on dates with him and then re-jash them on air.
.
WHY 5/5: While the humor is beyond top notch, the verbal sparring is the perfect blend of witty-snarky-sizzle, and the character growth is uniquely beautiful, I will shout about this book because:
.
The universe needs more assertive, snarky, FMCs.
.
Women do not need to fit into narrow, sunny or passive boxes to be loved.
.
Eva is a force. She is smart, she speaks her mind, and nothing escapes her notice. I want to be her best friend.
.
Thank you @netgalley for my eARC copy. I was given this eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this! A second chance romance playing off the shtick of chicken shop date, I loved the chemistry and relationship that built between the main characters, and thought the look into toxicity in the workplace and uncertainty in your career was well done.

My one gripe would only be that, at times, Eva’s hardheadedness went a bit too far, but also, I recognize that’s simply how her character was written and it didn’t take away from the overall story.

Also - the cameos from the author’s previous books were so fun!

honestly? this book is everything. it's gut-wrenching. it's hilarious. it's romantic. it's emotional. it's fierce. mazey eddings has done it yet again. this book is perfect for black cat x golden retriever lovers, he falls first, lovers (sort of?) to enemies (on her side) to lovers? i can't wait to buy this book for everyone i know.

book: 5/5
spice: 3/5
banter: 5/5

Baby’s first ARC and it did NOT disappoint! I loved “Well, Actually” so much more than I was anticipating. I had never read a book by Mazey Eddings and I am so excited to devour her previous works.

I admit that I had some preconceived notions of what to expect from this book based on the summary and cover art. I assumed it would be a fun romance without much depth to the characters or the story. Oh, how I was wrong. The novel explored themes of grief after loss, bisexuality self shaming, workplace bullying, forgiveness and so much more.

I absolutely love a story where the FMC experiences a personal journey and growth, and this book achieved that. I loved how Eva became softer with Rylie, but still stayed true to her self. I loved that she was able to understand Rylie and his experience that led to their initial breakup while still having her feelings of abandonment validated. I love nothing more than a well written second chance trope, and this one killed it. Their banter was so funny and the romance was SO cute.

Well, Actually Mazey Eddings from St.martins publishing was a very funny, easy read. It was a great feel good story where second chances have a happily ever after. This book was about two people who meet in college and ended on really bad terms. One drunken night post turned into a race to save their careers and in doing so causes them to fall in love. This is a first for me from this author and I'll definitely one clink her books in the future. Thank you so much from #netgalley for a chance to review this book.

This made me more emotional than I planned. There were parts of the MC that I connected with so strongly which pulled my into the story even more. Such a great mix of sweet, heartfelt and SPICY. Eva and her babygirl Riley were the perfect golden retriever/black cat couple. Ugh, I love them!

I loooove chicken shop date (which seems to be very influential for this book) and I was torn between really liking this book and cringing from it at times. There were times that I laughed out loud (I’m looking at you first date car scene) and times when I checked out. I love a FMC who is grumpy and bitchy and a MMC who is a total golden retriever. That trope makes up for my least favorite- the second chance romance. However, I actually liked how this second chance plot went. The character growth through it was great- although towards the end it teetered that line between having conflict and dragging the conflict out *too* long.
3.5/5 ⭐️ @goodreads pls make it so I can give half stars I beg of you
4/5 🌶️ I felt that the spice was really well done and spicier than I was expecting!! Although I’m not complaining about that

If you know me you know that I love my slow burns. There's just something about letting the characters really connect before they fall in love that I just eat up every time. Now second-chance romance books aren't always my favourite but I thought this book was really well done. They really were the right person at the wrong time, and there was just something so real about Eva and Rylie.s story.

If you enjoy these tropes give this a read:

-Black cat x golden retriever
-She hates him but he's OBSESSED with her
-Like he's LITERALLY obsessed
-Lots of praise and I mean a lot ( we love praise in this club)

Well, Actually was such a great read. Very charming as it contained a lot of very modern humour (as a Gen Z myself, I found my people with this one.)

The tension was absolutely impeccable. The dislike to lovers between the two where they really did commit to the dislike was oddly refreshing and made the first kiss feel incredibly rewarding to read.

I feel the end wrapped up a bit fast. While I don’t typically have this sentiment, this book probably should’ve been a bit longer. I felt it was trying to tackle a lot of great topics, but didn’t have enough time to really do so.

Great read though, and I’m excited to read future books by this author.

I liked this book, I think the idea and inspiration behind it was cool and the writing flow was good. I didn’t really connect with the mfc, I understood her grudge at first but the way she continued to act toward the mmc because of it ended up being frustrating for me.
I had a fun time while reading but I already know I won’t find myself thinking back to it in the future.

I lovedddddd this book i thought it was so so cute my favorite tropes i love a grumpy fmc i love a second chance romance it was everything to me. I definitely recommend this book please read it was lovely!!