Well Actually by Mazey Eddings is an irresistibly bingeable read that had me hooked from start to finish. Once again, Eddings demonstrates her exceptional ability to take familiar tropes—this time, the black cat/golden retriever dynamic—and breathe new life into them with her signature wit and charm. The chemistry between Eva and Rylie is undeniable, and the tension that builds as they navigate their past and present is engaging and compelling.

Eva, with her tough exterior and sharp tongue, makes for a relatable and strong heroine, though at times, her grudge against Rylie felt a bit overextended. Her reluctance to let go of the past and accept his growth became a bit redundant. As much as I admired her prickliness, I couldn't help but wish she’d have delved deeper into her emotional layers, particularly her fears of abandonment. That being said, Rylie is everything you could want in a romantic lead—emotionally mature, self-aware, and undeniably hot. His growth throughout the novel is incredibly satisfying, especially as he works to make amends for past mistakes.

Despite a few frustrations with Eva's character arc, the story ultimately delivers a heartfelt and satisfying second-chance romance. If you're a fan of witty banter, emotional growth, and a touch of delicious tension, definitely give this one a read. Trust me, you'll finish it in a day—it's that bingeable! Find this on shelves August 5.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press | St. Martin’s Griffin and NetGalley for the complimentary eARC. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

(3.75 stars)
thank you netgalley for the opportunity to read this as an arc!
if romance is one genre you liike to read from, then PICK this one up once it comes out, this is the blueprint for romance and tension... think andrew garfield and amelia dimoldenberg interview´s type of tension!
i had a great time reading this and i think if you are looking for a romance that fast paced but not entierly silly, then this is the one

At first, I thought this book was inspired by Amelia Dimoldenberg's "Chicken Shop Date" with Andrew Garfield, but just a couple of days ago, I saw the author's story that this book was actually written before that date ever happened! Soooo, this is the OG, people!

What can I say except that I loved every single second of this book? It had some of the best banter I’ve ever read! Like, genuinely, I was giggling and kicking my feet while reading—which was really difficult to control in public places. 🤭

The story follows Eva Kitt, the host of Sausage Talk, where she interviews B-list celebrities over lukewarm hot dogs instead of pursuing the journalism career she once dreamed of. One day, after a particularly rough experience that makes her question her professional life, she gets a little sloshed and impulsively calls out her college ex, Rylie Cooper. Rylie is now a beloved social media personality who has built his platform on deconstructing toxic masculinity and teaching men how to be good partners. My girl basically stitches one of his videos and exposes him—I was dying laughing. 😭

Obviously, things get real the next morning when her boss pressures her to confront Rylie on Sausage Talk. During the interview, Rylie makes Eva an offer: six dates that, according to him, will "change her perception of him" and prove that he has changed and grown. Eva, a headstrong feminist with razor-sharp wit, is reluctant to agree to his terms—but she does it anyway. And, to her surprise, he ends up proving himself right.

Eva has always felt like no one's priority. She hasn’t allowed herself to fall in love since what happened with Rylie, leaving her emotionally closed off. On top of that, she’s never been close to her family, and growing up feeling like an afterthought to your own parents creates insecurities that are incredibly hard to shake as an adult. But Eva covers it all up with humor, quick comebacks, and never letting anyone see through the cracks.

As Eva and Rylie’s dates unfold, we get to know more and more about these beautifully deep characters. I’ll be honest—up until the second date, the book started to lose me a bit. I was really into it at the beginning, but I felt myself slipping. But then came the third date. I won’t spoil it, but that moment answered so many of my questions as a reader and became a huge turning point in their relationship.

From that point on, we see their relationship evolve, and let me tell you—I had a constant smile on my face. 🤭 Their love blossoming, her running away from him, him not letting her go. And then, when they finally start dating, something happens that makes her feel like it’s all her fault. She’s scared, so she tries to break up with him—but HE WON’T LET HER!!! AHHHHHHHHHH!Everyone deserves a partner who will fight for them and alongside them, and Rylie Cooper was exactly that.

Even once they got together, their banter was still intact, and I LOVE couples who have insane chemistry before and during their relationship! You can see them engaging in their witty back-and-forth, but deep down, they’re both giggling and swooning. That was so Eva and Rylie. We only had Eva's POV, but it was obvious that Rylie loved every second of her pissing him off. And as for Eva, we got to experience all her feelings while bantering with him. I will die on a hill screaming that everyone who loves banter needs to read this book!

I related to Eva's character so much, and that made the book even better for me. I felt seen by this beautifully flawed yet deeply real and lovable character.

One thing I absolutely hated was how Eva was manipulated and used as a pawn by her company. At first, I understood that they wanted publicity from her calling out Rylie and their interview, but even after she publicly came clean about their relationship, they still wanted to capitalize on it. That was just sick. But I was so proud of Eva for standing up for herself and getting back at them toward the end.

All in all, this book had the best banter, chemistry, groveling, and spice. Both characters were equal parts adorable and slutty!!! This author is officially on my auto-buy list.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Loved this fun, quick paced rom-com. Everything about this said cute easy to read contemporary rom-com. Even the third act crisis wasn’t horrible to get through! Thoroughly enjoyed this book!

This is the first book I have read by this author and I will certainly be making my way through the rest of her work. It was funny, smart, and thoughtful. I tend to gravitate towards rom coms that approach serious topics and this certainly does that with grace and respect for people with those lived experiences. Loved it and I am excited to read more!

Eva and Riley met in college and had a short fling before he ghosted her. Several years later, Eva calls Riley out on social media which ends up going viral and putting her in an awkward position at work. Her company spins the viral post to benefit them and requests that Riley comes onto Eva’s talk show. Riley tells Eva he has changed since college and regrets the way he treated her. Eva is witty, snarky and has no interest in believing a word Riley says. I loved this book. I laughed out loud several times — the accidental text and the skim milk scenes 😂

Black cat x Golden retriever
Second chance romance
He’s obsessed with her, She’s annoyed by him
Open door romance

Thank you St Martins Press and NetGalley for this ARC!

Thank you Mazey Eddings and Netgalley for this ARC!

5⭐️//2.5🌶️

Eva Kitt had higher aspirations for her journalism career, but interviewing B- and C- rated celebrities on her show "Sausage Talk" is what pays her rent in New York, and buys her flawless outfits. A drunken night at home ends up with Eva online blasting her college ex, Riley Cooper - beloved social media influencer/podcaster/toxic masculinity de-constructer (?). After being shoved into the spotlight over-night (quite literally), Eva comes face to face to the guy that wronged her years ago while having to interview him on Sausage Talk. Eva is once again put in the spotlight when Riley asks her to give him a chance to redeem himself, and to take her out on a few dates.

If asked what my favourite thing about this book is, I wouldn't even know where to begin. The banter, the sass and mockery as a love language, the witty comebacks, the series of unfortunate disasters that comprised that first date, the overall energy and tension between Eva and Riley - I loved it all. This book brought me to tears from laughter, but also tugged at my heart from all the yearning and unwavering affection Riley showed Eva after their reunion. Themes of grief and feeling like you are not good enough, for romantic partners or parents, are treated with such care and tenderness, I was a big pile of mush on the floor. I loved this book and cannot wait to see what else Mazey writes in the future.

Favourite scene: First date 🤭
Favourite 🌶️ scene: "I know I shouldn't be here" 🤭

This was one of the cutest stories I read over Valentine's Day weekend. Eva and Rylie are one of my new fav second-chance romance couples. It's a fun, flirty just all around great banter , good time read. Loved it.

This was my first Mazey Eddings book and I was obsessed! Black cat woman? Golden retriever guy? Sign me up! Looking forward to seeing some of her other material as well. A definite read for me!

I really wanted to love this because I love Maizey Eddings! But this one just didn't click for me. It was still a great book and well-written, but for some reason, it didn't pack the same emotional punch for me. I'll still recommend it to those who love her books, but I just can't say that *I* loved it as much as the others.

in true mazey eddings fashion she devoured this. i am so in love with eva and rylie. this was not only fun but also deeply emotional and layered. I love how complex both of their histories and traumas were. overall I had a great time. I was laughing one minute and my chest hurt the next. the only thing I disliked was his nickname for her but overall I gotta give her her 10s. thank you to Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for this ARC!

Well, Actually by Mazey Eddings
Out 8/5/25

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
🌶🌶🌶/5 (The spice is there. The praise is there. The story is more prominent. It is not smut, but spicy).

"Eva Kitt never expected to be the host of Sausage Talk, interviewing B-list celebrities over lukewarm hot dogs, instead of pursuing the journalism career she dreamed of. But when Eva’s impromptu public call out of her college ex goes viral, she’s thrust into the spotlight. It doesn’t help said ex is Rylie Cooper, a beloved social media personality that has built a platform on deconstructing toxic masculinity and teaching men how to be good partners.

Forced to confront Rylie on a live episode of Sausage Talk, he offers Eva a deal: allow him to take her on a series of dates to make up for his toxic behavior, then debrief them on his channel to show he’s changed. Eva refuses to play nice, but agrees to the scheme to advance her own career and continue defaming Rylie’s good name. When these manufactured dates start to feel real, Eva has to wonder if the boy that broke her heart has become the man that might heal it."

I loved this book so much. I took a break from the Cosmere to binge read this and am in love. The wittiness between Riley and Eva made me laugh. The praise is *on point*. The indignation felt regarding some certain wrongdoings was strong. You would think it was done to me personally. I used to be Eva. I used to be a people pleaser, and I so desperately wanted to protect her and fight for her while reading this.

This book was spunky and bantery and fun! Eva was kind of mean but I kind of loved that about her. Seeing her and Rylie reconnect and get to know each other as they are now was really fun.

I was so excited to get this one!

A witty rom-com about Eva Kitt, a talk show host who goes viral after calling out her ex, Rylie Cooper, a social media star known for discussing toxic masculinity. To repair their reputations, they agree to public dates, only to realize their feelings might not be entirely in the past. With humor, sharp banter, and themes of personal growth, this novel offers a fresh take on second-chance romance.

This book had me hooked from the start. Eva and Rylie’s banter and chemistry was great, and the pacing kept me flying through the first half. Once they got together, the plot lost me a little, but that happens to me a lot with romance books. That said, I really appreciated that there wasn’t a dramatic third-act breakup. Overall, a fun, witty read that I enjoyed.

This is at minimum a 4 star book, probably 4.5-5, but I had two major qualms that are having me second-guess my rating. Hilarious. (Too) Relevant.

Update two weeks later, 4.5 stars and rounding to 5.

Ok, I adored this book. It was sweet, the characters were adorable, the enemies-to-lovers was done PERFECTLY in my opinion, and I will give my sour moods to Rylie Cooper in an instant if he wants me to.

My main qualm with the book was that there are SO MANY REFERENCES. Pop culture references GALORE. I had to look up at least 40% of them, and it forced me both out of the story emotionally (to lol at the reference) but then forced me too much into the specific period of time. I understand that this is definitely a peek into the window of time that is 2024-5, but because the internet moves so fast, ludicrously capacious is already 72 references ago.

Yes, this is clearly inspired by Chicken Shop Date. I don't think it's specifically the Andrew Garfield interview, unless Mazey Eddings wrote this ridiculously fast which, if she did, good for her. But please stop knocking a book that is inspired by real-life things for not being an exact match. Of course the characters are different. That's why "inspired by" and "based on" are two different things.

Beyond being a romance between Eva and Rylie, it's also a story that so many milennials resonate with - the drive we grew up with to "stick out" a toxic career or situation, and to work hard, and the costs that we're all seeing now add up. Thoroughly enjoyed.

I too, am a woman in STEM only in the sexy, tenacious, emotionally malicious sense.

Cute second chance rom com. However, I might have aged out of appreciating the humor and social media issues. The male main characters are made is likeable and the resolution is satisfying.

This book was well written and flowed quite well. I can see where inspiration from the scenario came from, and enjoyed it. It is nice to see characters of varying ethnicities and orientations being treated as "characters" and not novelties. Would recommend to others that have open minds, and would definitely personally read more from Mazey Eddings. Thank you to the author and publisher for the opportunity to read this and give my unbiased opinion.

This second messy second chance romance starts when Eva drunkenly calls out her ex on social media and the video goes viral. As a talk show host, her producers take advantage of the situation and reunites the two. What starts at fake dates where Rylie (her ex) wants to make up for what he did in the past evolves into something unexpected. This book covers inspirational and moving topics from second chances to standing up for yourself in a toxic workplace and pursing your true dreams.

Thank you NetGalley and St Martins Press for the ARC and allowing me to read this book early!

I REALLY wanted to love this one. The cover - stunning. The banter in the first 10% - outstanding. I giggled out loud numerous times.

Unfortunately, it kind of stopped there for me. I really hate giving negative reviews on books because I know how hard authors work, so I just want to preface this by saying that just because it wasn't for ME, doesn't mean it won't be for YOU.

Personally, I found the FMC absolutely unbearable. In the beginning, her bitchiness was funny. But then it just turned borderline, or possibly just full on, emotionally abusive. She's rude, she's mean, and she doesn't apologize for it. Once she finally hits her 'breakthrough', it came so out of the blue and was such a transformation in personality that it wasn't believable to me. This went beyond a woman who just takes no shit.

The MMC put up with so much verbal abuse from the FMC that I was left feeling sorry for him, and that is not how I want to feel in any type of romance book.

I'm all for an enemies-to-lovers trope, but this just went too far in my opinion. I really liked the concept of this book as well - two people who hooked up in college, ending terribly, and reuniting years later to hash out the past. And though it was a slow burn, the spice was definitely spicin' once it hit!

Overall - I don't regret reading it, I just can't say it would be top of mind for recommendations.

does mazey eddings ever miss? i cant think of a time where i wasnt kicking my feet and giggling while reading her books. this one was right up my alley and i literally could not get enough. mazey fan for life!!!