4 ⭐️
2.5 🌶️

This was soooo good. Oh my god, the TENSION! The ANGST! The BUILDUP! I had butterflies the entire time!!!! When ourFMC, Eva, drunkenly stitches a video going off on on her college ex and our MMC, Rylie, the response that comes from her video is explosive and somehow gets these two back together after not seeing each other for six years. Rylie wants a second chance at dating Eva and all I can say is wow, these two had some goooooood chemistry. And the steamy scenes, omg 🥵🥵🥵

This book also touched on a lot of deeper topics (mentioned in the beginning of the story) that I won’t give away too much off but I really thought Mazey did a great job dealing with these topics. Eva and Rylie really grew in this book, especially Eva.

Thanks NetGalley and SMP for an ARC! Def give this one a read!!!

YALL..... I have never felt so seen by a book in my entire life. I read the whole thing in one go and now I wish I could experience it all over again for the first time! I haven't read many books that do deadpan humor well and this book was like reading my internal monologue. Eva was so funny and Rylie had the perfect mix of sass and infatuation. I had to put the book down and stare off into space so I could fully appreciate and picture the glory that was that jomforter with beltloops!

Well, Actually was so refreshing in that it was still rooted in reality. When THAT happened with Landry and William, my initial reaction was that Aida was being a bad friend by not supporting Eva. I realized that I've gotten too used to the fairy tale world of rom coms where there are no real-life consequences and you can just quit your job in solidarity. I wish there was a scene where Eva told Rylie about her childhood and why she needs constant affirmations, but otherwise no notes.

BRB while I go read Mazey Eddings' entire catalog!

I was giggling and kicking my feet the whole way idk!!


I was initially worried I would feel the ick for Rylie but luckily that was NAUGHT the case! Eva was fun and I was rooting for her from the jump so it only made my heart happy to finish this book.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and St. Martin’s for the opportunity to review!

Well, Actually is a fun read with a clever premise and unique characters. Eva and Rylie’s banter had me cackling aloud on multiple occasions. This book has great representation on a variety of fronts, and the spice is spicy.

Eva is not a typical cute and charming female romance lead - she is aggressive and sharp and kind of mean, and I loved it. Hot girl energy! Meanwhile, also unlike many romance leads, Rylie has not a toxic alpha bone in his body. They make an excellent pair and compliment each other well.

I’d also deeply love to imagine that all of my and my friends’ questionable college hookups were now well-adjusted, kind, woke, gifted in the bedroom, etc. Maybe I’m too cynical, but I share Eva’s skepticism that such substantial change can happen in such a short time. Still, it would definitely be great if it could!

4.5/5

I really enjoyed the banter!! It was fun!!! They love each other like the two weirdos they are!!!!

I think the most enjoyable part is that even though Eva was really frustrating at times (ie, ya girl needs to appreciate herself), I really enjoyed how supportive her friends and Rylie were to her and each other. Whenever there was an opportunity to bring up an issue, they discussed it, typically in person. In this way it makes the plot a little frustrating -- it feels like Eva was working against herself for the majority of the storyline, despite the other folx in her orbit trying to help her in the ways that they can.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc!

2.5 stars

It was just a mid book. It had so much potential and I truly was so excited for it but the more i read the more disappointed I got. The MFC and MC would have some chemistry that would get me excited and hopefully, just to always end up flat.

Same with her friend and how everyone was treating her. I could go on and on but as I type, I noticed that I am just overdoing it. The truth is that, it was just flat.

This was great. Im sure many people will love reading this quirky love story.
The premise of the book I found really interesting because of how much it reminded of, Amelia and Andrew’s Chicken Shop Date of course. I love the concept of taking something familiar from pop culture, per say, and really exploring that and making it your own, which Mazey did!

I LOVED this book! Mazey writes characters that feel real, that deal with real problems that aren’t glossed over, but worked through. Eva hides behind her apathetic persona and after Rylie comes back into her life, she realizes she can be her self around him. Seeing the two of them work through their old relationship and watching it evolve into a loving and true relationship made me love the book that much more. For all the serious moments, there was the funny ones to balance it out. Rylie trying to impress Eva on the first date by accidentally hitting her in the throat with the cork was so funny. I appreciated the no third act breakup and instead Rylie sticking by Eva’s side and showing her that nothing was going to run him off and they were going to face it together.

I could go on forever about how much I love this book!

This was the most disappointing Mazey Eddings book I have read. It fell short of expectations for me. It did not resonate or sit well with me. I was not endeared to the main female character. I almost didn't finish it, but I did. And. It was fine. Not a book I'd recommend to my audience.

4.5/5

Intrigued by the premise: Eva and her show are reminiscent of Amelia and Chicken Shop Date. I loved Eva immediately and really related to her need to don the confident "Hot Girl" persona to hide her insecurities. Throughout the book, she undergoes great character growth and she becomes a true bad b*tch by the end of it. The best part of this book was her relationship with Rylie. They had a black cat/golden retriever energy ("Stop being so charming or I might fall in love with you" *gah*) and a second-chance romance. Rylie is the perfect book boyfriend - sure he's definitely made some huge mistakes in the past re: relationship with Eva, but we love a guy who can admit to his mistakes and move forward to right his wrongs and become a better person. He is also so supportive of Eva, especially as she navigates her terrible work environment, and doesn't try to change who she is - in fact, he loves her for who she is, including her biting sarcasm and black cat personality. Side note: He also has adorable sweaters with really cute sayings that I kind of want to buy. They have amazing chemistry and great banter together that really comes across even on their podcasts. I could not stop laughing at their first date, which was absolutely hilarious - everything that can go wrong goes wrong and it's so on par with their relationship. It was so fun to see them grow together despite their rocky start. And the best part is (that was a delightful surprise): no third act breakup :)

Favorite quote: "If at the end of my life someone asked me what I'd do with one more hour, one more minute, I would fight with you." *SCREAMING*

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC!

It was a quick read and good writing. The chemistry was good. I really liked Rylie and when they finally got together they were cute.

Overall, I enjoyed this but I honestly didn’t like Eva at all. She was severely emotionally stunted and I tried to sympathize with her, but I also feel like she was lacking depth and showed little to no character growth. It was frustrating because I really wanted to like her but i just couldn’t get onboard with her behavior. Being mean was her entire personality, it literally felt like there was nothing else to her and even that felt so forced the whole time. I usually love ice queen fmcs but Eva missed the mark for me.

I did enjoy Rylie though. He was the main reason this book turned out to be enjoyable for me. He was really sweet and it was nice to see him push back when Eva was treating him like garbage. Even if he claimed he liked it. And while I understood the narrative of “he loves it when she’s mean” it felt over the top at times.

I’ll admit when Eva finally got her act together, these two were pretty cute. I just can’t get past the fact that for majority of the book, she couldn’t even comprehend that someone could be capable of change. I understand her being upset about what happened between them in college but honey, that was six years ago, seek therapy.

I will say that I do think this does make for a decent romcom. It’s entertaining, it made me laugh and it has a lot of swoon worthy moments.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

“Huh. I would never willingly listen to a man speak in my spare time, but that’s just me.”

All I want is for Eva Kitt to step on my neck and I’ll reply “thank you, Mother!”

In all seriousness, Eva is one of my favorite heroines of all time. She’s mean and crass and hot and she knows it and takes no shit. LOVE HER

Mazey Eddings just continues to be amazing and this is 100% my favorite by her. I loved the chemistry, dynamic and tension this book delivered. I loved Rylie and Eva individually and together. I adored the queer representation. This book is hot, funny, and romantic. It will leave you blushing and gasping for air few reasons. I truly enjoyed so much reading this!

Thanks to the publisher for my ARC. I struggled with reading this and decided to DNF it. Character connection is something I must feel when reading a romance and i did not find that here. Unfortunately not for me but may work for others.

Absolutely amazing book that I could not put down and promptly devoured in a day. Eva is the most amazing damaged soul, black cat attitude. Her wit and humor deflection knows no bounds, and she will leave you endlessly cackling. Riley was perfect, so vulnerable and the level of emotional growth will put tears in your eyes. And the spice. THE SPICEEEEE. So hot, you will definitely be uncomfortable reading it in a public place, just how I like my books. The banter was hilarious. These characters had me bawling my eyes out at their vulnerability, but it felt so raw and not gratuitous for the plot at all. Probably my favorite book by Eddings so far, Well Actually is a rom com masterpiece for sure!

eARC

4.5 rounded up for two imperfect people falling in love. Eva has her walls way up, and Rylie (what a name) fails to impress for a while. But by the end, I was really rooting for these two. They are consistently funny and the insults are, yes, very Millennial but also very funny.

Eva Kitt is not having the time of her life. She is stuck in a journalism job she doesn’t love and nothing seems to be going right. Add in a bottle of Prosecco and some doom scrolling and you get a social media rant about a fellow journalist, and college ex, that has gone viral overnight.

Rylie Cooper is determined to give Eva the time of her life by making up for the horrible dating experience he gave her in college. Using their dual platforms to launch a dating and debrief series, the two start to get to know each other again.

Comedy, romance, workplace drama, and more follow in this surprisingly deep look at the scars that past relationships and traumas leave on us all.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced digital copy.

Fun, fresh, and new, this author has a unique voice and the characters and story were fresh! I enjoyed going on this journey with them!

hold on i can’t stop GIGGLING AND KICKING MY FEET!

i already KNOW everyone and their mama is going to hate eva. she stood for angry girl rights and we only want nice, palatable women in our romances 😃 and yet, being in her head you completely understand where her guardedness comes from, including why she’s so untrusting of cooper.

COOPER on the other hand was a fucking delight puh-leaseee 😫 I NEED THIS KID WITH AN UNRIVALED PASSION i swear to everything holy y’all. greenest of green flags. mouth of a pirate starring in a porno?! the most supportive, persistent, loving, emotional available kids out there i shit you not. this is why i read romance. mazey eddings, you continue to raise the bar!