This book started off slow for me. I loved the MMC but the FMC was not likable at all. I did enjoy the end when she opened up more. I appreciate this book and how it touched on the workplace and how the conflicts wrapped up. Overall, I think this was a good book but not for me. 3.5 stars. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the ARC.

I’m torn between 3.5 and 4⭐️

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to ARC read!

Overall, great plot and a fun read. The spice scenes were absolutely stellar. This was an absolute rom com of a book which I loved.

The MMC Rylie was AMAZING. Absolutely loved him the entire time, he was so great. He was very likable and very much golden retriever vibes. I loved his character development and how much he pined after the FMC.

The FMC Eva was harder for me to root for. I get the “cold hearted, can’t trust anyone” personality, but there were times it felt like it was taken too far. I started losing patience with her behavior and found it quite childish and annoying. I wished her character development started just a tad bit sooner than it did, I started getting bored of her same destructive behavior over and over.

Eva’s saving grace was simply that Rylie had the patience and kindness of a saint and didn’t take her mean attitude to heart.

If you like a good rom com with black cat / golden retriever characters who work in social media, this one’s for you!

Loved it. Very funny and hot. The premise is classic rom-com, with a modern bent. The heroine is the host of a very "Chicken Shop Date" online show, but more demeaning and degrading. When she finds a video online of a former hookup, a very unimpressive frat guy, giving relationship advice like an enlightened feminist role model, she calls him out with a drunken stitch. It goes viral and the people demand he appear in her show. Hilarity, attraction, redemption, and feelings ensue.

4.25

thank you to st. martin’s press for the e-ARC

I wasn’t expecting to enjoy this half as much as I did. with contemporary romances, I often have trouble suspending my disbelief enough to get wrapped up in the story and enjoy it, and this one did have a lot of implausible story beats to accept. with that being said, this story featured a really cute relationship dynamic that ended up winning me over, even if the rest of the story was predisposed to provoke my cringing.

the couple in this story is really cute. they have excellent banter, helped by the fact that one side really means all the insults for the first half. I could accept the second chance-ness of this story because there was extreme character growth in between, and because I love the angst potential of two people being a mess in the past and working through it in the present.

both of the characters have fun quirks and issues to work through, which I enjoyed for the emotional potential. I think this book was at its best when it wasn’t trying to be super funny, and leaned in to the emotional hurt and discomfort of their situation and past. however, this book is quite heavy on the comedy. some of the jokes were just a little too time-specific and online for me to not cringe a little, but they were also funny (the jomforter, for example).

overall, enjoyable and moving, but a little cringe at the same time

Mazey Eddings, girl- you can do no wrong in my book. Her books are truly laugh out loud funny for me, and the banter is incredibleeee. I will say, I felt like it took a while for the MFC to come around and really look introspectively at herself… but, that’s also probably pretty reminiscent of real life. I was seriously swooning after Rylie.

If you love the female black cat and male golden retriever vibe with heavy banter, palpable tension, and hilarious scenes, this book is definitely one for you. Mazey Eddings has such a fantastic way of weaving heavy topics into such comical books, yet making it work so well. I loved Rylie and Eva and the second chance romance of it all. The spin of making Eva an interviewer who eats hot dogs reminded me so much of Amelia from Chicken Shop Date, while still making it very unique and original in its own way, and I loved that! I would’ve loved to see Eva open up more to Rylie like Rylie did for her. Eva has so much childhood trauma, but she focused so much on her own heartbreak from Rylie in the past that I felt as if a huge part of what makes her, her, was kind of pushed to the side. 4.5 stars.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this story. Lovely fast rom com read with a bit of an antagonistic female lead and a bit more misunderstanding than I normally like, but it worked out in the end. I like that the author gave us time to enjoy the couple together instead of some romance reads where the story ends once they get together. Happy to see them happy :).

Thank you NetGalley for providing me this book to read but Why am i so unlucky with books lately..

The male character is an ass. He’s pathetic tbh. And this whole story is strange and goofy but I just don’t like it😭😭😭 Jesus maybe it’s me but if the first few sentences don’t captivate me, I’m moving on.. my TBR is wayyyy to long to waste.

A romantic book with Chicken Shop Date vibes - a delightful read. Entertaining characters with lots of the rom com tropes that we love!

Well, Actually stunned me with its sharp humor, unique and likable characters, and addictive plot.

I’m an extremely picky reader who rarely bestows 5 stars, but it’s easy to give them to this book. The writing is hilarious (and I usually don’t find books funny).

Eva is a relatable heroine and a refreshing one; she’s complex and not all sunshine and fluffiness. Rylie is a perfect counterpart, also an unusual leading man who is in touch with his emotions and is not afraid to be vulnerable. They’re very Gen Z. This book is also very current and pro-LGBTQ, pro-journalism, and anti-toxic workplaces.

The second chance romance was full of on-trend references and clever banter, and I think a lot of people may be able to connect with the variety of diverse characters. Mazey Eddings is undoubtedly a skilled writer – I love books that don’t recycle the same terms throughout, and this was one of them! As with other readers, I drew a connection between Eva, the FMC, and Amelia Dimoldenberg from Chicken Shop Date, and often it was easy for me to picture Eva’s deadpan, sarcastic delivery because as I read, I imagined I was watching Amelia! Admittedly, sometimes Eva’s humor crossed the line into cruel territory for me, which unfortunately made me struggle to find her likeable at times.

The toxic work environment was abhorrent – I am not excusing the depicted behavior of her supervisors – but I was a bit frustrated that the main character’s own dishonesty at work was seemingly portrayed in a way that was excusable. It came across as unprofessional and immature to me.

Spicier than the other books I’ve read by this author – although I admittedly didn’t read “Late Bloomer,” so it could be on par with that book in terms of spice level!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

Well done modern take on second chances. Podcasters have a viral beef and agree to go on dates so he can right some wrongs from the past and she gets a career opportunity to be a real journalist. The best part of the book is the emotional aspect. While they were in a long or really big relationship, they both left with scars and varying ways of dealing. The story cuts to the heart of why each character is the way they are and how they can grow individually and together. Eddings mixes in a good amount of humor and spicy scenes to round out this great story. Hard to not picture Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh, which isn’t a bad thing. Check this one out.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Full disclosure: I am a Mazey Eddings stan. She is always a delight to read, and her books are always so fresh and fun.

I didn't think any book could top Lizzie Blake's Best Mistake for me as my favorite Mazey book, until Well, Actually. Well, Actually was such a fun read, I laughed out loud, I cried, and just was in awe on the genius that is Mazey and her writing. I also loved that we got such fun cameos in the book.

I love a black cat/golden retriever book where he falls first. Also a messy heroine that is layered and real, but oh so loving and funny. It's hard to write a character that is a black cat and so lovable while she treats everyone else not so great until she realizes she's allowed to be happy. Eva and Rylie were perfection. Eva from her drunken tiktok maligning Rylie to Rylie taking ownership so quickly and just wanting to make it right. The journey these characters went on was beautiful and Mazey always does a phenomenal job of taking big, heavy topics and somehow making them fun.

And honestly, the jomforter sent me. I was cracking up.

** spoiler alert ** Thank you to Netgalley for the EARC of this book for an honest review!

This was a really cute book! Everyone's predictions about it being a Chicken Shop Date bit is right on the money in my opinion. It was really cute and surprisingly pretty spicy for a book like this. I was expecting like one major spicy scene but no we get a couple!

I am not rating this higher because I just wasn't a super big fan of the FMC but she wasn't terrible. Her fighting her feelings for the MMC was right at the line of being annoying and thank god she didn't fight it any longer because I was almost rolling my eyes at how much she fought her feelings for him.

I liked the deep dive on their interactions in college, and I felt like the author did a good job of hashing out those feelings in a realistic way. I was shocked at how much I liked the couples therapy idea they did and how well it worked out for them. It felt like a realistic take on how real people would act in a situation like this.

I would absolutely recommend this to people and I will read other stuff from the author. It was a fun quick read that is worth putting on your TBR!

I have been increasingly uncomfortable with romance novels that are clearly clones of real life people and situations, and this Chicken Shop-adjacent romance is no exception to my discomfiness. However! I really enjoyed Mazey Eddings' latest romance. Such fun, such great writing, and what a cover! Would that all cartoon covers had this much care put into them.

Oh my goodness! This is now my favorite Mazey book and my favorite read of 2025 so far!
I loved these characters, Eva and Rylie, and the storyline so dang much! Their connection and banter…OMG!!! I couldn’t stop giggling throughout the whole book!!!
Eva is a journalist who interviews B-list celebrities over eating hot dogs but longs to cover hard-hitting stories. Feeling like she is stuck in her career one drunken night, she posts online a fiery rant about her college ex, Rylie, a well-know podcaster/influencer. Her rant ends up going viral, and Eva is fully in the spotlight for the wrong reasons.
Rylie uses his podcast to teach men how to be better partners. He goes on Eva’s show to prove he’s a changed man and ends up proposing that he and Eva go on a series of dates to prove himself! The more time they spend together, Eva must decide if Rylie is truly sincere and might actually understand her.
Their banter is so delicious! And the chemistry is just through the roof! I don’t think I have loved a couple this much!
This read is so so so fun! You will not be disappointed!!! A huge thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

the book had a fun premise and lot of potential.
The banter was sharp, the dynamic between the main characters was interesting at first. But as the story went on, the female lead's attitude became somewhat frustrating . The romance had its moments, but it felt dragged down by too much unresolved tension.Overall, it was a good read.

The banter! The tenderness! Be still my heart!

Eva, my girl. I see you. I feel you. I was a version of you in my twenties. Yours is the story so many of us have lived both personally and professionally. Even though you molded yourself this way for a reason, I wish I were half as badass as you, especially as you evolved into a version both softer and stronger.

Rylie, you put in the work. The therapy. The pain. And good on you for calling Eva on her bullshit, yet loving her for it too. For pushing her and supporting her.

Mazey, you’ve done it again. Better than just again. More and bigger and brighter and deeper.

Thank you to St. Martin’s and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest opinions!

The concept of the "chicken shop" dates is something I have craved in a book format for way too long. Mazey Eddings has taken this trope and made it her own. She doesn't shy away from good representation in her books. Golden retriever x black cat is the characterisation which fits like a glove to Eva and Riley. Sometimes, she could be a little too mean and that's why there is one star less. All in all, good romance book for a long train ride!

The vibes are giving "Amelia's chicken shop date with Andrew Garfield" in the absolute best way.
We have a black FMC and a reformed himbo who wants to make up for the ways he hurt her in the past by taking her on dates. It is very funny and quirky. Our FMC has a lot of hurt that she has held on to for 6 years and gets to let go of it through therapy. The MMC is so besotted with her it almost borders on top sweet at times but is absolutely adorable And the vibes are worth the read.
I do wish it wasn't it wasn't hot dogs though...