Wow, I absolutely loved this story. I rarely read single POV. They usually make me anxious to know what the MMC is feeling if he is not verbally communicating his feelings.

Mazey nails the black cat x golden retriever trope with Eva and Rylie. I loved Eva’s character because I saw so many of my past in her character. Her fear of being vulnerable, always making a joke in a serious situation… but then her character growth! It was so beautiful to read.

I think the thing I loved most about this story is how raw and emotional the characters are. When Rylie opens up to Eva about why he was the way he was in college… I was hanging on every single word.

10/10 would recommend this book to anyone who loves banter, flirting, rawness and vulnerability.


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

I want to start this off my saying THANK YOU to St Martin’s Press, Mazey Eddings, and NetGalley for my very first ARC!


My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

My initial thought was to give this book four stars. But the more I thought about it and the other books that I classify as four star reads, the more I thought this one was a solid three. For me, three stars is still pretty good!


The rest of the review will contain spoilers.

Let’s start off strong with Rylie, he was a cutie pie. Sure, he messed up in college, but what guy doesn’t? He did what most people are afraid to do, own up to his mistakes and work to correct them. Not only with Eva but just with life in general. His story was one I really appreciated and actually kind of wished we would have gotten more of his story and his struggles with his identity and how he came to terms with it.

I really liked the premise of this book, taking a concept that’s pretty new in reality, adjusting it a little bit, and making it a rom com, seemed like the perfect fit. And the first half of the book was really strong, there was banter, there was even the aspect of trials with the dates Rylie was taking Eva on.

Here’s where it lost a little bit of its spark, about halfway through, the couple gets together and they stop going on the dates. Eva’s show isn’t talked about except as a plot device to cause conflict in her life and she throws everything she’s worked for away for Rylie. Don’t get me wrong, her employer sucked, but she did go MIA for a whole week, lied to them, got caught, and thought everything would be fine because she was in love and her boss was a woman.

Overall, this was a cute potato chip book you can really turn your brain off while reading and get through pretty quickly. It has good spice and the story is adorable. Rylie is a cutie. Eva has some funny one liners.

*posted to Goodreads, Instagram, Lemon8, and TikTok*

Heard this one reminded people of Chicken Shop Date & that sold me.

Loved the dynamic between these characters and how down bad this MMC was for her from the jump. This FMC took a whileeee to soften up but made the wait so worth it when we finally broke past her hard exterior.

Tons of fun

well, actually by mazey eddings

well, actually is a contemporary romance novel that follows eva kitt, a podcaster (think chicken shop date) who after publicly humiliating her college ex and beloved social media star, riley cooper, is forced to participate in a series of dates with him.

i loved the premise of this book and think that mazey eddings has a strong voice. however, i really struggled with a few parts of this book.

i found that the two characters had almost no chemistry and as a fan of flawed characters i actually found these two unbearable. i also think the story relies on the assumption that the reader is an expert on all things pop culture and social media and found it difficult to see past the very modern day setting including the unironic usage of the word clout.

while this wasn’t for me, i could definitely see fans of banter really loving this one and readers who enjoy books set in our modern day.

Thank you to Netgalley for the e-arc!!

This was SO HECKING GOOD!!!!! It’s a change to see Mazey write a book that’s a bit more edgy than her usual soft and cute books but this felt so on brand for her!! I love Rylie Cooper hes the love of my life.

2.5 stars rounded up to 3. The first half of this book was about extremes - Eva and Rylie were over-the-top caricatures of the people they were supposed to be and it just felt too unbelievable and exhausting. I actually rolled my eyes at both of them some times.

There were some best friends in the mix but I think their relationships with the main character were vastly underdeveloped and their existence was solely for plot points. I really prefer when a romance is about more than just the romantic love and there’s some well-developed platonic love in there as well.

The ending, where the characters finally shed some of their armor, was introspective and nice.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC

I want to love Mazey Eddings' writing so bad, but like Late Bloomer, this one also fell short for me.

Well, Actually follows Eva Kitt (essentially Amelia Dimoldenberg, but American), the host of Sausage Talk, a podcast where she interviews celebrities while they eat hot dogs. One night, she sees her ex, Rylie Cooper, who now hosts a podcast breaking down toxic masculinity, on her feed, and drunkenly stitches a response to the video, where she calls him out for being misogynistic and bad in bed when they dated in college. The video goes viral, and Eva's boss forces her to bring Rylie onto the podcast. Once on the podcast, Rylie offers her a deal, go on a series of dates with him so that he can show her he's changed, and she gets a nice career bump from the exposure. She agrees, and the plot ensues from there.

Spoilers ahead:
Everyone in this book felt like a caricature to me. Rylie (our MMC) has trauma which explains why he acted the way he did years ago, but continues to talk like some weird slime-y guy in the present day. His (supposedly) total 180 from the jerk he was bag then felt totally unrealistic to me.

Eva's friends are completely one note, to the point that I can't even remember their names. Her one female friend is the producer of her show, and her entire purpose seems to be a minor antagonist, contributing to the third act conflict, but it felt totally unwarranted, and just painted her as a bad friend. Her one male friend, Ray, has slightly more agency, but again could have been left out of the book entirely and nothing would have changed.

Eva's boss Landry was one of the most unbelievable characters I've ever read. There is no world in which a woman who is framed as being this super powerful, respected, but also feared woman is making a speech about Gilmore Girls in the workplace. And that wasn't the only pop culture reference that felt completely random and took me out of the moment.

All in all, this was a cheesy rom-com with a bunch of flat characters.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Thank you Mazey Eddings and NetGalley for this eARC.

#secondchance
#goldenretriever
#slowburn

Love me a GOLDEN retriever... have you MET Rylie Cooper?!?

When Eva sees her college situationship (first love?!) on social media, living his journalism dream, she claps back and calls him out on his B.S. In the past 6 years since they were together and she was ghosted, Eva has grown up and put her big girl pants on. She won't take this lying down again.

The cover of this book sums it up better than any review I could write. He praises her through all her snarkiness. I could relate to the walls Eva put up regarding love. Rylie was relentless in his pursuit of her. That is THE dream.

4/5 Stars

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

4.5 stars, rounded up.

"Well, Actually" is a hilarious story. The banter - *chef's kiss*. The golden retriever/black cat trope - *chefs kiss*. The second chance trope - *chef's kiss*. I literally read most of it in one sitting while kicking my feet and smiling like a fool. If you're into spicy scenes and ENJOYING reading, then definitely give this a try.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc. This was a cute story overall. I found the main character insufferable at times. I know she was supposed to be this major bitchy character, but it felt over the top at times. I love Eva and Rylie together. He is definitely the kind of person she needs in her life. Eva pushes people away with her attitude and Rylie makes a stand to let her know he isn’t going anywhere, and does it in a charming, lighthearted way.

There’s a lot to love about Wee Actually. The hero is a reformed misogynist who is willing to do whatever it takes to get the girl who got away. The heroine is very snarky and acts like the walking, emotionally wounded human she is. As they spend more time together, you root for their ship more and more.

If I could change one thing, it would be the heroine’s self-esteem. She needs at least 20% more than she currently has. Her lack of self-worth became very annoying, especially toward the end.

Okay, I knew I was going to enjoy this book, but I was SO unexpectedly surprised by just how much I loved it—and the amount of queer representation?? Absolutely obsessed. I went in expecting a fun second-chance romance, and what I got was off-the-charts tension, insane banter, and some of the funniest, swooniest moments ever.

Let’s talk about Eva. She’s the definition of a tough shell with a soft center. She’s got walls sky-high and a sharp tongue to match, but underneath it all, she’s just a girl who’s been hurt and is terrified of being vulnerable again. I adored how unapologetically her she was, even in moments of self-doubt. I wanted to be her best friend and give her a hug at the same time. And then there’s Riley Cooper. Oh my god. This man is smooth, hilarious, a little bit of a menace, and somehow still the most emotionally mature love interest ever. He owns up to his mistakes, he communicates (gasp), and he’s just goofy enough to balance out Eva’s chaos. Their chemistry?? Off. The. Charts. The groveling?? A+ work, sir.

And can we talk about the overall vibe of this book? Fast-paced, fresh, and modern, with such a relatable cast of characters. The found-family aspect was chef’s kiss, making me feel like I was part of their chaotic friend group. And the humor??? I was giggling, kicking my feet, and laughing so hard my face hurt. But the best part? The unexpected queer representation. I loved how naturally it was woven in, how it never felt forced, and how it just made the story that much more real and vibrant.

If you love:
✨ Ex-situationship drama with so much unresolved tension
✨ Bi + pan rep that will make your heart happy
✨ The best black cat x golden retriever energy
✨ Second chances + right person, wrong time
✨ “Stop being so mean to me, or I’m gonna fall in love with you” vibes
✨ The kind of spice that makes you bark

Then you need this book in your life. Immediately. I’m obsessed and will be thinking about this book forever.

I loved this book so much. It was such a cute, fun little romp with a surprising amount of weight. The banter was top-tier and the spice level was perfect. Four enthusiastic stars to this gem of a book and now I'm off to check out the rest of this author's work!

You guys…….i loved this one. This was a highly anticipated read for me this year, so I’m really happy I got it as an ARC! What I loved the most was the banter between Eva and Rylie. There were some cringe parts, like how Eva works on the social media web show “Sausage Talk” (yes, chicken shop date), and how the situation with Eva, Rylie, and Eva’s bosses and how invested they were in her love/sex life….i know it’s fiction but girl, you NEED to file a complaint with HR.

I’m very iffy with second chance love, but I’m honestly so obsessed with this book. Eva and Rylie were briefly together in college and after one drunken stitch with Rylie’s video, Eva finds herself back in contact with Rylie, who is adamant about making his wrongs right with Eva. Above all else, I saw myself so much in Eva I started thinking of ways to bring it up in my therapy sessions. The way she overcompensates with sarcasm, quick wit, and keeping herself at a distance, especially with men, girl it felt like looking in a mirror. Rylie was deterred and talked about how much he loved it and how her “bullying” and wit was his favorite thing about him. Like why was I kicking my feet in the air, twirling my hair on my fingers??! Super flirty, fun, and actually pretty introspective into why Eva feels the way she does and how understanding Rylie is because he just wants to get to know everything about her. Needless to say, I’m so excited for everyone to get their hands on this in August!!

In accordance with FTC guidelines, please note that this ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I unfortunately had to DNF at 22%. The main character’s personality was not my favorite and I wasn’t a fan of how crass the dialogue and content was. I was really looking forward to this read since I’m an avid “Chicken Shop Date” fan but this book was sadly a miss for me.

Unfortunately, this book was not for me. For most of it, I was genuinely just waiting for it to end, and for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, while I did think the writing was good and flowed easily, the actual things written were just too cliche and cringey for me to enjoy it. Too many unbelievable things happening in one book- the car crash and the cork in the throat in the same date, the accidental messages to the wrong person while dropping the phone, the scene with the couple in the subway with the oddly omniscient advice, THE JOMFORTER? Or just a lot of cliche moments that I’m not a fan of, like the whole “ did you just call me your girlfriend?” line.

Secondly, our main characters annoyed me. I get that Eva’s whole thing is being rude and snarky, but sometimes it just felt like overkill. Also, she’s able to stand up for herself and described as such a powerhouse of a woman but instantly folds to William? I get he’s the boss, but I found it hard to believe she would let him exploit her as extremely as he did and she would just take it. I get that she was obviously insecure and her defense mechanism was being mean, but it just didn’t add up to me. I also felt like Riley had a conflicting personality. He is described as awkward, vulnerable, but then makes cheeky comments and flirty winks. His mannerisms somes times don’t seem to match the description we’re given and the amount of times times he was made to be interpreted as “quirky” like through his outfits (and again, the JOMFORTER??) was annoying.

There was not a single character I liked in this book. Landry and William were terrible villains because they were just plain evil- no backstory, no humanizing moments. That’s just lazy character building to me, sorry. Also, Aida was the worst excuse for a best friend I’ve ever seen. The way she prioritized that terrible workplace over the well being of her supposed best friend just to quit at the end was ridiculous.

All in all, I just unfortunately could not like much about this book. The internet references were funny at first, got old quickly.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

Well, Actually by Mazey Eddings is such a fun, heartfelt read that had me hooked from the start. I loved how the book tackled impostor syndrome, internet culture, and self-worth while still delivering a swoon-worthy romance. The protagonist, Lexi, felt so relatable—her struggles with proving herself in a male-dominated tech world really hit home. The banter was sharp, the chemistry was electric, and the emotional depth made the story even more compelling. Eddings has a way of balancing humor and heart perfectly, and this book was no exception. I couldn’t put it down!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Love the plot of this book and how even though I knew there would be a HEA, I got to enjoy the journey of getting there. The characters were likeable. Except for the toxic work people. Was there a content warning that it talked about toxic workplaces? If not, that might be something to consider.

3.5 ⭐️

a mean-ass pansexual version of amelia dimoldenberg (with sausages instead of chicken) gets drunk and posts a tiktok about her (famous podcaster) ex being a fake feminist then proceeds to go on a series of dates that they debrief on his podcast. he turns out to be a reformed frat boy with lots of trauma and still obsessed with her.

this was fun. i respect women’s rights and wrongs, but eva was borderline a bully 😭 i loved rylie bc the man is a sweetie in the streets and a freak in the jeets (yes he has denim sheets)

the story isn’t super memorable, but i will be thinking about his bedding choices for awhile.

Eva and Rylie's college romance ended abruptly when he ghosted her. Six years later, she sees his social media post, he’s a social media personality , focused on advice for treating women, and her reaction goes viral. Her media company employer seizes the opportunity, forcing a reconnection between the former lovers.

I struggled with Eva's "black cat" personality. My Southern sensibilities prefer a "honey, not vinegar" approach. The spice level was also too high for me, leading to some skipping. By the 80% mark, the story began to drag.

However, there were highlights! The skim milk scene was genuinely hilarious, waking my husband with laughter. Rylie's sunshine personality was well-written and charming.

Eddings tackles important topics regarding sexuality and sexism, expanding my compassion. For that, I'm grateful.

If you enjoy "black cat" FMCs, give this book a try!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.