Well, Actually… I absolutely loved this book! I couldn’t put it down :) Love the writing and characters that had me giggling throughout, it’s such a fun story! Eva & Riley are the perfect dynamic. They are perfectly flawed but in the most lovable and relatable way with laugh out loud moments all throughout the story. Eva’s inner dialog + their banter between her and Rylie throughout has me wanting to be their BFFs!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

Goodreads review-
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/217387757

IG review-
https://www.instagram.com/p/DFd7shPRuhl/?igsh=amI5b3JnZm0xYmg3

With the quippy and quick dialogue we've known to expect from Eddings, this book has it times ten. Eva and Rylie's chemistry is off the charts and fun to read. Edding's other commonality between her books is the focus on mental health and this one does a great job of that as well.

If you were as obsessed with that one...similar poultry restaurant show video- this is for you!

I will say, at some points, Eva did bother me. She hardcore needs some good therapy like Rylie had. Her actions in the beginning are questionable and I wish they had some worse consequences.

Eva is the host of sausage talk and interviews B-list celebrities ovr hot dogs.... She calls out her college ex, Rylie, a beloved social media personality. Rylie offers to take her out on dates to make for his toxi behavoiour....

Love the chemistry between the main characters. They sparkle together. Enjoy the fun and humour too.

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.

Overall, I really liked this book. The characters are interesting and have depth, and the writing is good.

My main issue with the book, which is unfortunately a pretty major one, is that both Eve and the author seem to think that Eve publicly blasting Rylie near the beginning of the book is acceptable, and doesn’t merit any apology from Eve. Yes, she was drunk, and I think it’s totally fine to have her Instagram video be a plot device. However, once sober. she should have realized her behavior wasn’t okay.

Imagine if the genders were reversed- a girl goes on a few dates with a guy in college, they have mediocre sex, and she ghosts him. 6 years later, he posts a public video disparaging her personality and sex skills. Ghosting or not, I think most people would think this is unacceptable. So why does the book treat Eve doing exactly this to Rylie as totally fine? This left a bad taste in my mouth.

I was a little hesitant with this story, but it had me eating my concerns within a few chapters. The yearning, the grovelling, the redemption. All of it was everything a girl could ask for.

This story could have easily been just a fun second chance story of two characters who missed their first chance together because of circumstances, but Mazey Eddings turned out a truly emotional, at times heart-breaking and at all times heart-warming story of two people who have been hurt throughout their lives finding exactly what they need in each other and, most importantly, finding the courage to let themselves have that.

I'm honestly grateful I found this book. Rylie and Eva are some of the most relatable characters I've read and watching them grow and learn and change was such a delight.

I miss this book already.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the ARC -- all opinions are mine, freely given because I freaking loved this book.

Okay, so don't judge me when I say this is the first Mazey Eddings book I've read. No one's perfect. But this book? Eva and Rylie? Basically perfect for me.

Eva herself is not perfect: she's closed off and sarcastic, but she has reason to be. The incident that brought Rylie back into her orbit made me cackle. Watching Rylie slowly, methodically chip at her defenses watered my crops and healed my inner child. What a man.

The book made me laugh out loud several times -- the abject horror of Rylie and Eva's first date, some of the absolute zingers Eva delivers ... it was just so much fun.

And the chemistry between them? Off the charts.

I adored it, and now I need to go read everything else Mazey Eddings has ever written.

This book took me by surprise in the best way. I went in expecting a fun romance but it delivered so much more — packed with emotion, depth and characters that felt real. The chemistry? Absolutely electric. And the spice? Perfectly done. I was giggling, kicking my feet, fully invested from start to finish.

Honestly, this is one of the best romances I’ve read in a long time. Mazey Eddings nailed it, and I can’t recommend it enough!

What’s better than a second chance romance? A grumpy-sunshine, tough-as-nails FMC going head to head with the bestest of boys, sweetest crewneck wearing, golden retriever MMC. I adored Eva and Riley’s second chance at love and appreciated the tender hearted vulnerability that laved the way to their ultimate reconnection.

I actually did enjoy Well, Actually. It was silly and fun, and took only a couple of hours to read through. The dialogue was snappy and the concept was cute.

However, overall, I didn't think the plot or character development was enough to bump it to a 4 star. First, the characters were not very interesting or likable for me? I didn't find Eva's "black cat" personality very believable, though it made for some good one-liners. Why so mean for no reason? Her job and her dependence on it also seemed tenuous - is all she does the hot dog appearances once in a while? Does she do any other work? How is that a full-time job (when its clear she doesn't have a ton of exposure and is not celebrity-level famous). Why wouldn't she be leveraging her small presence through social media? So many questions. And Cooper's influencer job seemed similarly baffling. It also sounded like he lived in a mansion by NYC standards. I didn't find him as a character very likable at all - the development over just 6 years was not believable, his whole personality seemed to be liking Eva. There was no depth to either of them, and no growth. It felt rushed and cobbled-together. Everything was surface-level.

Despite having quite a few things I disliked, it was a fluffy, fun read nonetheless and I expect other fans will enjoy it more than I did.

Thank you to St. Martins Press for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars

This book was so fun and cute and also a lot more emotional than I was expecting. I couldn’t help but love Rylie - he was just so charming and sweet and so incredibly obsessed with Eva. Learning about why he acted the way he did in the past made me love him even more and I was obsessed with his collection of weird sweatshirts. Eva took a little longer to grow on me but I ended up really enjoying her character. She had really great growth throughout the book and I liked how she slowly opened up more and more to Rylie.
This was a fun premise. I liked all the “fake” dates they went on and how they debriefed them on the podcast. There were a lot of fun elements and I really enjoyed this book!

Thank you to St Martins Press and NetGalley for the ARC!

This book was both funny and emotionally quite heavy. Both characters have past trauma, although the MMC has mostly worked through it. This is single point of view from the FMC, so she's the one we see grappling with her issues. It feels very current, as the author clearly did her research by spending lots of time online 😉. This is pretty spicy, but only after about 70%. I would have liked more with her family, even if it's only her realizing how awful they were to her and to acknowledge their behavior was a them problem, not a her problem. I often find it very difficult to read books where the FMC is being taken advantage of/bullied, and usually DNF, but this one hit differently to me. Perhaps because the heroine's reaction to this is to just be an ice cold b!tch rather than get trampled on (or to at least not let anyone see that she minds being trampled on). Because we can see how vulnerable she is inside, I don't think this made her too unlikeable. [For those wondering about the "queer" tag, the MMC is bi and the FMC is pansexual.] Anyway, this is pretty ramble-y, but I'll just sum it up to say I liked it.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

My first 5 star read of the year!!!! I want to shout my love for this book for all to hear. From the very first chapter I was hooked. I couldn’t put the book down. I was giggling, blushing, kicking my feet, laughing out loud, and simply GUSHING over the words that came out of Rylie + Eva’s mouths. These two had c-h-e-m-i-s-t-r-y!!!! The flirting and tension was so freaking good. I literally was smiling like an idiot every time these two went at it. Eva is my girl!!!! I don’t want to hear a single negative thing about her. I will take it very personally lol. I felt so seen through Eva’s character. Rylie is mmc of my dreams. His dedication to Eva and the grovelling had me drooling!!!! Mazey Eddings has a way of creating beautifully flawed characters with so much depth but also with such humour. I’ve read all of Mazey’s books and I truly loved all of them. Well, Actually is now a top fav romance for me and I can’t wait for everyone to get their hands on this baby!!!! y’all are gonna FREAK.

My first 5 star read of the year!!!! I want to shout my love for this book for all to hear. From the very first chapter I was hooked. I couldn’t put the book down. I was giggling, blushing, kicking my feet, laughing out loud, and simply GUSHING over the words that came out of Rylie + Eva’s mouths. These two had c-h-e-m-i-s-t-r-y!!!! The flirting and tension was so freaking good. I literally was smiling like an idiot every time these two went at it. Eva is my girl!!!! I don’t want to hear a single negative thing about her. I will take it very personally lol. I felt so seen through Eva’s character. Rylie is mmc of my dreams. His dedication to Eva and the grovelling had me drooling!!!! Mazey Eddings has a way of creating beautifully flawed characters with so much depth but also with such humour. I’ve read all of Mazey’s books and I truly loved all of them. Well, Actually is now a top fav romance for me and I can’t wait for everyone to get their hands on this baby!!!! y’all are gonna FREAK.!!!

Looking for your next romcom? Look out for Well, Actually by Mazey Eddings. This was a good one. Pick it up on publication day.

This was the most millennial book I’ve ever read. And I’m still not sure if that’s a compliment or not. As a zillennial, I exist with a foot in each generation, and the respective cultures. This allowed me to understand the references even if I didn’t find them funny… not the best outcome.

What I did like: I liked the discussions about second chances when the person truly has worked on themselves and changed. Rylie’s character development was earned and clearly thought out, which I appreciate. I also liked the side characters!

What I did not like: I did not like Rylie’s name. I know it’s a small thing, but characters constantly switched between his first and last name causing me to question if it was the same person. I also could not get over the overt connection to BuzzFeed. Again, I may not have been the direct audience this book was written for, but I still would have like more world building and less direct references to a real life organization under a different name.

Overall it was a just ok book that I would recommend to a chronically online millennial but probably no one else

Oh Mazey Eddings the woman that you are!! I read Late Bloomer last year and fell in love with Eddings writing. I could not contain my excitement when I got the arc for Well, Actually. The banter is so good between Eva and Riley is so good I found myself laughing out loud multiple times, but more than anything, what I love about this book the most is the tenderness. Eva and Riley’s feelings for each other are so soft, so kind, so understanding. Reading about two people being so open and vulnerable with each other is so comforting. And I relate to Eva so much, in many ways, but mostly I relate with her fears of being abandoned, forgotten, replaceable. And Riley, you sweet, patient, loving man. A man after my own heart. His love for Eva gives me so much hope. I’m so glad I got to read their story and I can’t wait to purchase the physical copy because are you kidding with that cover???? Thank you NetGalley for the arc!!

Sausage talk host Eva is feeling a bit unsatisfied with her life and career. She didn’t imagine at 27 she’d be living alone and interviewing b-list celebrities over lukewarm hot dogs. Things start to pick up after she blasts social media star Rylie Cooper for being a shitty lay among other grievances. What she doesn’t anticipate is that Rylie is actually thrilled to see her and wants a second chance. 6 dates to win her back all being recapped via podcast. But can Eva ever trust Rylie again after the way he treated her?

There are good books and then there are books so good you forget you’re reading. This book fell into the second category. I literally could not put it down. The writing was fun and captivating, the characters were flawed but lovable, and the romance was swoon inducing. I had a fantastic time reading this and I think anyone who enjoys steamy second chance romances will like this one!

Second Chance
Sassy FMC
Caught in the rain ☔️

Thanks St. Martin’s Griffin and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.75 this was amazing!

This will get a special page in my reading journal!
I enjoyed this so so much! The characters were amazing, their banter???? Shut up it was SO good! Their chemistry, their bickering, their banter also didn‘t stop once they got over their problems with each other which was absolutely perfect!
I laughed out loud so many times while reading which is saying a lot! Evas and Rileys story was the perfect mix between humor and seriousness and their love and adoration of each other!!!, i loved the topics the author discussed in this, the grief, how to handle toxicity at the work place, just communicating with each other about everything actually. I loved the characters and the side characters and their journeys!

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc and Mazey thank you for writing this!!! I can‘t wait to get my hands on a copy and reread this many times in the future

Well, this was a delight, actually!

The chicken shop date inspired rom-com I never knew I needed, this had top tier banter, and lovely characters. The pacing of the book was really well managed thanks to the backstory and the tension between Eva and Rylie.

A fun read and Mazey's best work to date, in my opinion.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc!

This was a fun read! I read this in one sitting because it definitely kept me wanting more.
I was giggling most of the book because of Eva she was witty and funny. She did get me angry a few times but she also was making her self angry and was aware of what she was doing so I gave her grace in knowing she can at least acknowledged when she was being dramatic! I would definitely recommend this book!