So happy to read this while available on #netgalley for 72 hours. Funny, challenging, and steamy, this enemies to lovers had it all. Eddings is such a gifted writer, managing to weave deeper themes into the story that make it so satisfying. Highly recommend! Releases August 4th. Don't sleep on Mazey Eddings, y'all! She is one heck of a storyteller!

I struggle with my review of this book simply because I loved the first half or so but was not a fan of the second part/end.

To start I enjoyed Eva’s sass, her attitude, her sense of humor. I totally felt for her in her moment of weakness with the online video/rant. Rylie is a sweetheart, so assertive and kind but also frank and silly. I found them to be entertaining, cute, great compliments and positive for eachother.

While not every book needs a 3rd act break up (and honestly I don’t think with Eva & Rylie’s history a 3rd act breakup would have worked for them) if there is no 3rd act breakup, the alternate drama driving the latter part of the book needs to be substantial and engaging and carry the narrative. The storyline here did not do that for me. I found myself struggling to stay interested,

Overall, I liked the book and Eva & Rylie were fun characters to get to know. Was it my favorite Maxey Eddings book? No. Was it a cute read? Yep. Would I read another Mazey Eddings books? Yes.

This was such a funny romcom! I was cackling. Love when one of the main characters has a dry sense of humor.

Riley Cooper had my stomach hurting from laughing so hard. Eva is an FMC who is super relatable as she just wants to protect her heart. I really enjoyed how she evolved in this book.

What to expect…

Second chance
Right person/wrong time
Black cat/golden retriever

I want to thank St. Martins press & NetGalley for this ARC.
I’m a big fan of Mazey Eddings so I was very excited to ready this story as I had been hearing about it for a while. I loved the concept right away. I’m a big fan of the YouTube shows where an interviewer chats with celebrities over hot sauce or chicken so it was smart to take this new way of entertainment and turn it into a story. Now, I want to say as much as I enjoy Mazey’s writing I found myself struggling through this one. I tried to like Eva. And it has nothing to do with her stubbornness, or prickly nature. I’m all for a main lead to not be full of sunshine and rainbows and speaks her mind. I actually loved those characteristics in Eva. I feel like it just took me too long to understand her. I dislike how she used her insecurities to make others feel less than or feel bad about themselves. She needed therapy badly. Riley on the other hand was a great male lead (Mazey’s male leads are always really good btw to anyone who hasn’t read her other books).He was almost too patient and kind to Eva with the way she treated him even if he did feel bad for what had happened six years prior. The development of a relationship between them was well done and when Eva finally let down her walls it made for a better story. I did believe in the end they truly love each other which at the end of the day makes a good rom-com.
All in all a fun read!

I loved this book is was such a quick fun read there was so much banter and I enjoyed the second chance genre!!

I could not put this book down, it had some of my favorite tropes second chance romance and a golden retriever MMC. There is something to be said for a MMC who realized his issues and worked on it all on his own before helping the FMC work on her issues. Rylie Cooper was a perfect book boyfriend in my opinion.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun read. I really enjoyed the banter between the MMCs, it was quick witted and funny. I don’t usually like second chance stories, but this one did it for me and both characters were likable.

I found Eva and her issues to be completely relatable and very realistic. I really enjoyed her character and loved how she immediately found grace for Riley’s behavior once she found out why he behaved the way he did back in college. Riley was also a little cutie. I wish we had his POV in this book so we could have more insight to his feelings. Especially when he initially saw her video, how he felt seeing her again and just his journey in general. I would’ve enjoyed his internal thoughts.

Overall, this was a fun read and would recommend to friends.

well actually this book so cute. too cute in my opinion. The amount of times I was giggling and kicking my feet was ridiculous and too many times as a grown woman. But this book was good and I enjoyed the characters and their relationship. It was slow at the beginning but sped up as the book progressed.

4⭐️s! Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this advanced copy! Well, Actually was my first book by Mazey Eddings but it won’t be my last! I really enjoyed this cute rom com and specifically the care in which mental health was represented.
Well, Actually is a romantic comedy with a black cat FMC and a green flags only, golden retriever MMC. This second chance romance takes place 6 years after the two main characters briefly date in college. Eva Kitt isn’t exactly living her dream life as the host of a Chicken Shop Date-esque internet show where she eats hotdogs and acts bitchy and bored with B-D list celebs. She wants to be a serious journalist and believes if she just does her best at this current assignment she will be rewarded by her iconic boss and her son (an absolute weasel of a man).
When Eva sees a video of her ex, Rylie, talking about how men can be non toxic and how they should treat the women in their life, she snaps. A drunken Internet sensation is born and Eva gets thrown back into Rylie’s life whether she likes it or not.
What follows is mostly Eva being very mean to Rylie and Rylie absolutely loving every second of it. My guess is a lot of people will say this FMC is unlikeable. I couldn’t disagree more! Is she kind of mean, yes! Is this a highly honed skilled to avoid being let down, also yes. The mental health and deep rooted feelings of both characters get explored beautifully and fully throughout the next 50% of the book. I adored Eva and Rylie and their relationship together.
The reason this is 4 ⭐️s for me instead of 5 is that most of the tension and story got wrapped up around 70% in and I struggled a little bit through the 90% mark with the story feeling a little stagnant. I wasn’t as invested in Eva’s career as the author would maybe like me to be. The final 10% did pick up again for me and this was a super cute read that I would definitely recommend to anyone who loves deep, fully formed but flawed characters.

On a career journey toward real life journalism, Eva ended up on air for a ridiculous, satirical internet interview show reminiscent of Between Two Ferns. After a liquor fueled bad decision to share her thoughts on Rylie, a famous internet host - and former college near-flame - lands Rylie on her show, life gets interesting. Explores some interesting themes of sexism. I love Eddings’s style and voice. It felt like a romcom for smart women. I’m now here for any title Eddings brings to the table.

Not good. Just, not good. The writing was pretty elementary. I’m sure this will appeal to some but it wasn’t the sharp, smart book that I was hoping for.

At the start of the book I was all in. Super sassy, strong fmc who gets herself into shenanigans with mmc and they then have to go on 6 dates. So in for this second chance slow burn. I was breezing along for the first half, but the 2nd half unfortunately the pacing felt off and dragged a bit. I did keep with it and glad I did as loved seeing how it all wrapped up. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced reader copy for my honest review!

5/5. This was a perfect romance. The prickly FMC who wants so bad to be loved and the golden retriever MMC. Absolute perfection and the focus on enthusiastic consent and participation during the intimate scenes was so sweet.

I had such a fun time with this book! I, like just about everyone else - was mainly interested because the concept sounded like it was inspired by Chicken Shop Date. I will say that while I do think that Eva’s job probably was inspired by that show, that is really the only connection. The characters didn’t feel like they were based on Amelia or any of her guests, and the overall tone of this book isn’t really that much like Chicken Shop Date. However, I really enjoyed Well, Actually regardless! Come for Amelia and Andrew, stay for Eva and Rylie.

First of all, I was laughing out loud. Both Eva and Rylie were hilarious, and the banter was elite. I mentally giggle and kick my feet a lot while reading romance, but this book had me physically giggling and kicking my feet. The chemistry was crackling. I loved the black cat/ golden retriever dynamic (and “Evil Kitten” or just “Kitten” is such a cute nickname for Eva Kitt). I know I already touched on the Chicken Shop Date connection, but a few times I wondered if Mazey Eddings may also be a fan of Kyle Prue. Several of the times when Eva tried to insult/ flirt with Rylie, she said things that felt like they may have derived from his “Things You Can Say to Piss Off Men” series (resulting in insults that are both mean AND hysterical). Of course Rylie, being the most patient little green flag you’ve ever seen, never actually got pissed off, but instead just fired back with a perfect flirty and equally funny response every time.

I have seen a few reviewers say that they didn’t enjoy this book because they didn’t like Eva, but I actually liked her a lot. Eva is incredibly guarded and scared of getting hurt again. Unfortunately, that causes her to lash out and treat others (usually Rylie, who always comes off as an actual angel on earth) pretty harshly. I can see how some readers will be put off by her. On the other hand, I found her very relatable. Even before she really explained all of the hurt and fear she had been carrying around, one of my first notes on this book was, “Why is the hot dog lady resonating so deeply with me?” Was it fun to watch her repeatedly insult and reject Rylie, one of the sweetest, most likable romance leads I’ve read in a long time? Definitely not, (well, maybe a little at first) but I got it. He caused her a lot of pain and emotional damage, then showed back up in her life seemingly perfect. I wouldn’t have trusted it either. However, watching him work his way back into her good graces with his humor and relentless kindness was extremely satisfying. He really was the perfect book boyfriend the whole way through.

This was my first book by Mazey Eddings, and I had such a great time reading it! I’m excited to check out more of her backlist. Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc. I’ve already told all of my friends to check it out when it’s released on August 5th!

This book was so much fun but also made me cry. Rylie was absolutely Andrew Garfield, I don’t care what his description was. He was Baby Girl and Baby Girl is Andrew Garfield. Eva felt very familiar in the way that Mazey’s characters always do to me which is why her books always resonate. I loved it even without a third act breakup 😮

I read A Brush With Love by Mazey Eddings a few years ago and have followed her work ever since. As someone who works in the dental field, I had never read a romance novel that highlighted this profession - a dental backdrop is rare in the romance world. Because I loved A Brush With Love, I was so excited for the release of Well, Actually. When I saw the cover for Well, Actually, I knew that I wanted to pick it up for that and that alone. I read this book in a little over a day (work got in the way) and absolutely adored it. The witty banter, the enemies to lovers, the female friendship, the podcast/creative atmosphere - it was all *chefs kiss*. This second chance romance between Eva and Riley was everything that I needed it to be.

It was wildly entertaining, and I loved watching Riley help to heal Eva’s heart. While I did find it hard to connect with Eva as a FMC - I often found her to be rude and immature, I also find her to be refreshing. A lot of romances feature a FMC that “goes with the flow” and falls head over heels with the MMC, so I did appreciate Mazey creating diversity in her characters. She also features bisexual characters throughout the book and LGBTQ alliances.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed Well, Actually and look forward to reading more of Mazey Eddings books in the future. Thank you to Mazey Eddings and Net Galley for the ARC. 4/5 stars!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

So so good! The banter was amazing the characters were amazing (especially Riley). I really enjoyed the story but felt like towards the middle the plot got ignored. Overall this was such a fun read and Eddings writing is so fun to binge.

First & foremost, thank you so much to Net Gallery, St. Martin’s Press, and Mazey Eddings for the amazing opportunity to read this advanced copy.

Well, Actually by Mazey Eddings

Pub Date: August 5, 2025
Rating: 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟.5

Spicy: 🌶️ 🌶️ 🌶️

TW: Internalized biphobia, workplace abuse, toxic masculinity and internalized misogyny, grief after loss of loved one

With this being my second book by Mazey Eddings I knew I wouldn't be disappointed in the least. The story follows Ms. Eva Kitt who is a host of a show that interviews up and coming celebrities white eating hot dogs (yeah super weird, I know) even though her one true calling is to pursue journalism but she feels that her current position will one day lead her to be able to achieve her calling. The story takes a turn when Eva calls out her ex from college named Rylie Cooper on social media for giving relationship advice when in her experience with him in the past was lacking to say the least (you're going to have to read the book to find out the deets 🤭). Rylie ends up going on Eva's show and making a deal with her to make up for what went down between them in college six years ago.

This book touches on topics such as internalized biphobia, workplace abuse, toxic masculinity and internalized misogyny, and grief after loss of loved one which Eddings does beautifully in my opinion. I definitely fell in love with Rylie and his gold retriever personality mixed with Eva's black cat personality. If you want a book that will pull at your heart strings this is the book for you.

Literally so good I read it in one day. The banter between the MC and FMC is just so like-able (hopefully that makes sense) like shes the grumpy and hes the sunshine and it just worked so well! I like that the book has impact on not just romance but other things as well like the socialization of work relationships as well as the sexual issues that women deal with on a daily basis. One of my favorite authors and thank you for letting me be an ARC for another wonderful work of yours!

Although this book may appeal to others, for me it lacked the substance needed to keep my interest and make the characters relatable and believable.