I’ve really enjoyed Mazey’s previous books but this one didn’t land the same way for me.

The main character, Eva, was extremely rude and combative throughout the book. I was hopeful that it would lead to character growth, but I didn’t feel that it did.
She also constantly switched between calling the love interest his first and last names which was confusing and there wasn’t a logical reason in the story to do this.

I did like the love interest, Rylie, and enjoyed the wit and banter between him and Eva!

A lot of people will enjoy this one but unfortunately it didn’t quite work for me.

You’ll enjoy this if you like 🩷
- black cat x golden retriever
- chicken shop date
- queer main characters (bi x pan)
- no third act breakup!

Thank you to SMP Romance & NetGalley for an arc of this book 🫶🏻
Pub date: 8/5/25

I had a really great time with this book. I love a second chance romance and Mazey knocked this out of the park. I always do forget how much on page processing of trauma Mazey does in her stories. It’s not a bad thing but can be heavy. This trauma processing left me a little wrung out. Riley and Eva were really precious. Banter was fun.

Thanks netgallet and the publisher for an e-arc to review!

oh she was CUTEEE. Definitely chicken shop date vibes (but like, that was the whole idea I presume). It was cute and the banter was definitely there, I hate when the fmc is… vanilla, but that was not the case in this book. I love, love, love the sassy female main characters in books because they give the story so much FLAVOR. It’s like putting a dash of salt in cookie dough, it completes a story! It was like enemies-to-lovers-but-they-were-never-fully-enemies-they-just-needed-to-talk-it-out. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this book a lot! It was unpredictable in the way that you kept reading because you just couldn’t see how the plot would work itself out. Mr. Riley Cooper was a firm green flag, and definitely a cat person. Deliciously engrossing, with a refreshing plot!

This was my first Mazey Eddings book and it won't be my last. Absolutely adored it! Rylie was such a man who just loved so hard and so unapologetically. Eva Kitt may be perceived as having a lot of rough edges, but Rylie didn't back down and loved her for it. It wasn't seen as a flaw. And the spice? Oooo it was good. Also loved the queer representation of bi and pan main characters as well. It wasn't a large part of the story, it just .. was. and felt so natural (as it should be!)

4.5

This book was so good! I really loved the characters and how well developed they were! I enjoyed reading their story!

This book was an absolute delight and will be the Hot Girl (haHt gurl) book of the summer! For the cover alone.

I would have read it in a day if I hadn't had to work yesterday! Mazey had me kicking my legs with excitement, squealing to absolutely in tears from the opening line.

I couldn't put this book down. The back and fourth between Eva and Riley is fire and I love how she doesn't make it easy on him! Black cat x Golden retriever energy through and through.

Eva although the middle child is 100% an eldest daughter and you can feel that in the way she's written. For those eldest daughters out there you know what I mean. Chapter 12 had me sobbing and feeling raw. With one specific paragraph and thought's of Eva's highlighted.

I also 100% agree that this is giving Amelia's chicken shop date vibes! IYKYK

"You think my glasses are smutty?" Welcome to all men entering their curly hair, slutty glasses phase. These one liners had me thinking of Jonathon Bailey in the Jurassic World Rebirth posters and Andrew Garfield at the Golden Globes. Sigh!

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Griffin for the eArc for their Valentine's day Romance newsletter.

This second chance romance is steeped in pop culture and social media references. Usually, by the time a book is published these are stale if not incredibly cringey. I do think that happened here a bit, unfortunately.

I was invested in where the plot was going, because it didn’t seem to have any real direction. The thing I thought was going to be drug out for a bit longer, wasn’t. The reveal I assumed would take place later in the book happened before 50%. After that therapy session the entire premise fell apart, and yet I had to know what was coming and why those choices were made. The answer? Not much, honestly. Even the spice was a little boring once they got together. There was potential with two queer main characters for some inventive scenarios, but all we were served was a lot of making out and vanilla encounters that largely drove the word count in the back half of the book.

The banter was fun. Rylie was a little obsessed with her. There were some sweet moments, but overall this was only a 3.5 ⭐️ book.

This book had so much things that I love: second chance romance, bi and pan rep, praise and good girl, and a slow burn. It also was written by Mazey Eddings, so it's automatically a winner for me.

Eva and Rylie hooked up in college, and he ghosted her. She now has her own online show where she interviews C list celebrities while they eat hot dogs, and Rylie is a podcast host. When Eva posts a video calling out Rylie for ghosting her and being terrible in bed, the video goes viral!

They sit down for an interview, and it leads to a series of dates where they explore their feelings and what happened in their past. Rylie is so down bad for Eva, and I loved it.

Eva is setup as an unlikable character, and that's what I enjoyed most about her. She felt like someone who was real.

I have so many thoughts about this book, and I'm sure that I will reread this book again before publication in August. So I will update with more thoughts then.

4,75 stars. I did not expect to enjoy this book so much.

Eva is the host of the show "Hot Dog Date", a segment that is very similar to Amelia Dimoldenbergs "Chicken Shop Date" where she interviews celebrities while acting uninterested and bitchy.
Rylie is a podcaster who talks about toxic masculinity and personal growth.
The problem is that six years ago, Eva and Rylie dated for two months in college, a time that left Eva feeling mistreated and even ghosted in the end. So she doesn't believe the way he acts on social media and in a drunken impulsive moment she stitches his video to tell the internet how toxic and horrible of a person he actually was to her. This leads to him being a guest on Hot Dog Date and propositioning her six dates to make up and to convince her that he is a changed man.

I usually dislike second chance romance and find it a difficult trope to execute. But in this case all worked well. This was the perfect mix of emotional and light-hearted, with funny bits strewn throughout.
Eva may have not been super likeable, but to me she was absolutely relatable, and since her bitchiness wasn't just there for fun but a part of her tough exterior, I found it understandable and forgivable.
Rylie was actually a bit too much of an optimistic sunshine character to me, but he was still highly likeable and a perfect counterpart to Eva. Oh and he is also a huge simp lmao.
The workplace situation was imo painfully realistic, but I would've liked to know what happens to her bosses in the end, other than that I was very happy with the plot.
I will definitely look out for this author from now on.
(Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this arc)

5/5 read it in one couch sitting
Banter is hilarious
Characters are very relatable
Great for ppl who love seeing grumpy sunshine turned on its head

Eva Kitt is a character that is hardened by feelings of failure and fear of not being enough. It is extremely relatable and realistic that she is not only closed off, but harsh and callous. I loved her. I’d read 14 more books about her. She and Riley are written so well, I absolutely love how Riley grew to handle her in her worst moments. I can’t say enough good things about this book

Rating —> 4.5 ⭐️

Thank you so much net galley for trusting me with this new and coming soon release. My opinion is my own and I was not bought out to give a good review and leave -

First off, I have never read a book by Mazey Eddings. But girl- SHE.DID.NOT.DISAPPOINT. The book hooked me in by chapter 2 - and by chapter 5 I was giggling kicking my feet and blocking out dumb household chores so I could finish this book.

The female main character - girl - I love her entire attitude. I see myself a lot through her personality and I’m glad to see some damn representation for the “cold hearted” girls. 😝

The male main character was a gem - a true golden retriever man. Without spoiling the book - that main is everything you’d want in a partner. Gosh. Had me swooning everytime he communicated with her.

The ending DID feel rushed to me - I wish we could have seen it play out a bit more, however, I felt happy and content and I will for sure be recommending this book to my friends,my book community, and others.

Again thank you so much - and I can’t wait to see others like this as much as I did. 💓

I enjoyed this!! It falls somewhere in the middle of Mazey’s books for me. I really enjoyed Eva and Riley’s dynamic, especially in the beginning. It did get a bit old throughout, especially since it feels like every single jab Eva took was pulled directly from Kyle Prue’s TikTok series on how to insult men. The ending felt a bit rushed. Overall though, it was fun and Mazey is gifted at writing spice lol!

This book was super cute and definitely worth the hype! Grabbed it for the cover but stayed for the romance

sometimes we can have a manic pixie dream boy, as a treat. this book is very very good at capturing FEELINGS and how one does (and does not) cope with FEELINGS. i will say it's weird to read a book where one of the main characters has the same name as your partner, though. on the fence about that.

As someone who had a blast when Amelia Dimoldenberg and Andrew Garfield’s flirty exchange took over the internet, this book gave me those exact same feels.

I really enjoyed reading about Eva. Even though she had a tough exterior, the book was sensitive to her background, providing context for why she was the way she was. Rylie was such a fun and lighthearted character, and I truly appreciated how much he cared for Eva, giving her the space and time she needed to come to terms with their relationship.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it!

A big thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Mazey does it yet again! I always devour her books and this one was no exception! The banter is immaculate, the characters are so relatable, and it was overall a great time.

Eva and Rylie had a terrible hookup 6 years ago and Eva was ghosted after. When she’s tipsy and posts a video sharing the story on social media, it blows up and Eva finds herself back in Rylie’s orbit yet again. She reluctantly agrees to a series of six dates with Rylie as he attempts to make up for his past mistakes. Will Eva’s prickly attitude deter Rylie’s chance to atone for his actions?

If you enjoy black cat energy from your FMC, a bisexual MMC in slutty little glasses, and maybe a hot dog or two, you should definitely read this book!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for access to the eARC!

Well actually, I adored this book. Eddings had me hooked from the first page. The banter, the main characters and their development, everything was top tier.

I could write so much more, but I don’t want to give anything away. I will say this: if you want a rom-com that will have you swooning and kicking your feet, read this book. If you love goofy, golden retriever MMC, read this book. If you’re in your late 20’s (or 30’s) and you’ve ever felt like you’re the only one without it all figured out, read this book. Honestly, the only thing I didn’t like about it is that I have to wait six months to get my hands on a physical copy!

Mazey Eddings put magic in this book, from the beginning I was absolutely enthralled.

The black cat/golden retriever energy from Eva and Rylie was done so perfectly. Eva’s character might not be for everyone but she was such a breath of fresh air. She owned her personality and was unapologetic about it. Rylie was the definition of sunshine.

Rylie’s growth was so moving, seeing him struggle with his sexuality and dealing with loss was heartbreaking but so integral to who he became as a person.

Eva spent years holding people at arm’s length and refusing to let her guard down. We saw her slowly open up and allow herself to feel all her emotions.

I am typically a little wary when a book integrates popular social media and modern lingo, it can come off as a little cringey but in Well, Actually it was done so masterfully.

The comedy, the storyline, the characters and their growth. I couldn’t have asked for a more.

The ONLY thing I will say I was not a fan of was the pet name “Kitten” I could not get past it.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

I was HIGHLY skeptical of this one when I first read the blurb. A male podcaster profiting off of talking about toxic masculinity? I think I side-eyed so hard I sprained my eyeballs.

But, ugh, I guess will make an exception for Rylie Cooper. The patience he has for Eva, the slutty little glasses (Eva’s words not mine), the banter, the scenes where <redacted because I have family that follow this account>.

On a serious note though, in addition to be riotously fun, I think there’s a lot of things that felt real in this one. This isn’t a second chance romance because of a silly miscommunication, or circumstances. Rylie really hurt Eva, in ways that will feel very familiar to anyone who’s been ghosted by an emotionally immature college boy. He has to atone for that (and atone he does) and Eva has to work through the issues she has because of it.

All in all, this one was a delight. My only worry is that it may give women the idea that their terrible college exes have actually evolved, emotionally intelligent and amazing in bed - and we all know that he’s probably still an f-boy, just with a receding hairline now.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. I will be publishing my review on Goodreads and Storygraph closer to the publication date.