DNF at 34%

This book makes me uncomfortable. The relationship between Eva and Cooper is awful and I can’t see any way this could turn into a romance.

Although she’s rude and obnoxious and slightly bitchy, she has every right to not believe Rylie has changed from the frat boy she knew six years back. He asks her to give him a chance to show he’s a different person and then literally proves to her that not only he doesn’t care about getting to know her better but also that he has no patience to learn more about her. He plans this grand date and rushes her through it, completely ignoring her enjoyment of being in Met on their own. He makes a point to her that he remembers she likes art but gives her no time to enjoy herself in the gallery. Instead he makes her go to the top of a high building and triggers her panic attack because she’s scared of heights!

And I HATE how the author wrote Eva to feel bad about this whole situation when fear of heights is actually a very valid fear and Riley should have checked with Eve what she likes to do. I mean this guy should be the one to prove he changed and has actual interest in her as a person!

I also really hate how pushy Riley is and how demanding he is of her to talk to him and communicate when she doesn’t owe him that! He’s supposed to be making her more comfortable to open up not demand talkativeness! I love what she says at the end of chapter 7:

“No. I'm not going to tell you what I'm thinking. You want a gold star for remembering a region of food I like and a color that I wear all the time? Good for you, I'm sure your fans will be weeping at how goddamn sentimental and caring you are. But none of this is real. You don't get to know me. You don't get to back me into a corner and demand I tell you things about myself so you can feel better about being a fuckup in college, then use it against me in a stupid podcast recording to prove you're some sort of nice guy and deserve the frenzy of adoration you've somehow tricked people into.”

Don’t make me even start on them openly flirting with each other and saying weirdly inappropriate things. I get it, you both still find each other attractive but for gods sake, every single one of your conversations is just uncomfortable.

If I’m reading a romance the last thing I want to feel is a bad taste in my mouth from how uncomfortable and toxic the relationship is. Yeah, no.

DNF

4.5⭐️ | 3🌶️

I was thrilled to get approved for the ARC of Well, Actually on @netgalley but I ended up doing a little double-dipping because once the audiobook came out, I couldn’t resist listening too…and wow, what a ride!

Eva Kitt is exactly the kind of FMC I adore: sharp, sarcastic, a little prickly on the outside, but all of that sass is just her armor. She’s built walls so high around her heart that even her podcast guests (celebs she interviews while eating hotdogs in a basement studio…iconic, honestly) can’t break through. Enter Rylie Cooper- her ex from college turned podcast co-host thanks to one tipsy viral rant and suddenly Eva has no choice but to face the boy who once broke her heart. Staged dates + one shared mic = pure chaos, banter, and so much delicious tension.

This book had everything I crave in a romance: laugh-out-loud moments, scorching chemistry, tender vulnerability, and dialogue so sharp it made me grin constantly. The black-cat x sunshine dynamic? Absolutely nailed! Rylie is the ultimate golden retriever simp- soft, devoted, and a total green flag with just enough spice to keep things interesting. Their banter was top-tier, their chemistry sizzling, and yes, the spice definitely delivered.

I also loved how Mazey Eddings explored queerness, self-worth, and toxic workplace culture alongside all the humor and romance. The audiobook (narrated by Ariela Crow) was fantastic, she brought Eva’s wit to life perfectly and had me laughing out loud.

This was one of my most anticipated 2025 releases, and I’m so happy to say it completely lived up to my expectations. Tender, hot, and hilarious…Well, Actually was everything I hoped for and more.

A fun second chance romance, the story of Eva and Riley. I really enjoyed reading this and found it an engaging story.

This one wasnt for me. I really couldnt get into it and started dreading the idea of pushin through.

Not sure what to write for this review to be honest… this book had everything it need for me to love it but it was a struggle to get though. I actually enjoyed the plot and the characters but something made it incredibly hard for me to get invested - I don’t know whether it was the very long chapters or something to do with the writing (though I never had an issue with Mazey’s previous books) or even the fact that it was told in single POV (which did this book a disservice, regardless of whether it was the cause of the problem for me personally). It was just a bit painful to get through, which I’m really sad about!

This is my first time reading a book by Eddings and I've heard such wonderful things about her other books - so I was excited to get my teeth sunk in! I wasn't majorly impressed or disappointed so this book has earned itself a humble 3 stars.

I really liked the concept, it was giving chicken shop date vibes from the jump which to be honest I couldn't tell whether I enjoyed how it felt like a romance novel equivalent of the chicken shop date series or if it felt like a rip off in terms of originality. I think I land somewhere in-between. However, what I did find obscenely fun was the premise of Eva having to interview Rylie Cooper. It felt exciting that the narrative wasn't following Eva meeting a stranger during an interview and a romance blossoming but rather the enemies to lovers route.

Speaking of Eva, what a phenomenal character! She is an absolute vibe, maybe my spirit animal? One of my favourite quotes of hers was early on when she narrates that being a hot girl 'isn't a look or a style, it's a commitment to doing whatever makes you feel unstoppable in the face of life's fuckery' - can we have more FMCs like Eva please! She's also hilarious, such a great dark humour that made this book so entertaining to read ('maybe I could reach my toaster from here' made me giggle). And the cherry on top is we have some LGBT+ representation! Eva is pan, which was a cool detail - it would've been nicer for it to be a bigger part of the narrative/Eva's character development because it felt like it was mentioned just the once and then never again but it was a nice touch.

My only negative about Eva is how mean she is to Cooper. At times, given their history, it felt warranted but there are a lot of times she snaps at him when he is trying to be a nice dude. The whole date incident where he doesn't know she's scared of heights and she completely flips is valid (it's a fear, not her fault) but she absolutely tears him to shreds and reacts so badly when he didn't even know! I think part of my issue with that entire scene is that we don't even know Eva is terrified of heights. I feel like it was randomly dropped and because I hadn't associated heights with Eva's character it felt random and I didn't feel as bad for her as I would've if her fear had been baked into her personality/character development/backstory a bit more. Also the flashback, where we find out she is scared of heights, disrupted the whole flow of the scene and given it was the only flashback in the entire book felt like such an afterthought that was poorly planned to give Eva another reason to hate Cooper.

Cooper, our MMC, was equally delightful. He gave strong golden retriever, cinnamon roll vibes and that was really nice as a contrast against Eva's sometimes harsh and mean attitude towards him. He's romantic to a fault and we really follow his quite endearing redemption arc of trying to get back into Eva's good books. He does call Eva 'sweetheart' way too early in the narrative though so -2 brownie points for Cooper on that one.

Hot dogs were not the only thing sizzling in this book, Eva and Cooper had sizzling chemistry with extra sauce the entire time. I was rooting for them and loved the banter tennis that they played throughout. It really felt like modern romance at its best.

I also want to dedicate a paragraph to Ray aka Eva's bestie. He did so much heavy lifting in the book, he is funny and I was enamoured by him. I found myself genuinely laughing at some of the comments Ray made. One of my personal faves is when he's talking about Cooper's you know what and predicts that 'he's curved to the left for some reason. Just gut instinct. He has that energy' - oh that one really got me haha.

A couple slight points that I wasn't a fan of. Firstly, the Paul Rudd hot wings meme was too niche of a reference for my big ol brain - I was lost and befuddled by that reference. Also I visibly cringed when Eva refers to Cooper's ass as 'impeccably bombastic' - does anyone use the word bombastic seriously? Whilst we're on the topic of things that are cringe, Cooper calling Eva 'kitten' constantly really irked me and I'm not sure why. It just made me cringe.

In terms of the narrative I also had a couple of sore spots. Firstly, the whole plot revolves around Cooper being a former-asshole and is focused on his redemption as a born again nice guy. I wasn't mad at this narrative, but it kind of felt like why are we following Eva with this dude who has been awful to her in the past? At points it felt jarring to read because Eva was so mean to Cooper and her tolerated it partly at times I felt to redeem himself more than anything. A dual POV would've been nice, because Cooper has quite a substantial backstory and excuse for being an ass to Eva so it would've felt more emotional hearing his thoughts rather than it being secondary. Also side note, I didn't like this subplot of Eva constantly being saved by Cooper - she starts off as such a strong woman and then as the story progresses the narrative paints her as anything but.

Another aspect that dare I say upset me was the spice. The spice itself was written pretty well, albeit some cringe moments, but it was so abrupt. We go from literally no saucy moments to the most graphic details and it felt like someone poured a bucket of cold water over me. I felt like there was also so much spice, the second half of the book was predominately just sex, sex, sex which wasn't for me.

All in all, a fun read with an interesting premise but nothing that I'd run to the bookstore to read again.

This was a very enjoyable grad I loved to concept of the fmc’s job it was new and refreshing! I loved the second chance aspect to the story it really is a great trope?

This is the first book I have read by Mazey Eddings, and I had high hopes for a witty, banter-filled romance however it fell a little short.

I didn’t really connect to either FMC or MMC throughout and didn’t feel that either of them were particularly likeable. There was a lack of depth and I wish we’d been given to opportunity to get to know them better. Same with the side characters, on the surface some of them seemed really interesting but it never really went anywhere - and there were some questionable choices that detracted a little from the overall story.

It was an easy read that I did enjoy, but I was left wanting more from the story unfortunately.

This was a great read, Mazey Eddings is amazing as always and the chemistry is off the charts as well as the characters benig richly drawn.

3.5 stars
Content warning: internalised biphobia, grief from losing a loved one (historical), mentioning of drug and alcohol dependency (historical), workplace abuse, toxic masculinity and internalised misogyny, emotional neglect as a child, mildly toxic relationship with love and self-worth


This story really got off to a strong start for me. A bold woman who takes no prisoners calling a past flame out for ghosting her and subsequently holding her own against his charms, was such a fun trip. It was really reminiscent of movies like "How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days", and I consumed the first 60% of this read with relish.

And then, it kind of all fizzled out. The topics around self-(re)discovery, love, and incorporating a healthy queer-normative focus were shrouded by immense drama through a series of bizarre scenes and side character choices that pulled me out of the fun I was having, and at times, made me feel really uncomfortable. This portion also affected the pacing of the book, and it began to drag, making me dislike Eva for some of the things I had loved about her in the beginning. Rylie also became intolerable, and I really struggled until the final portion that wrapped this story up well enough. I'm still really disappointed about the solid 20% of needless drama and character assassination that ruined what was shaping up to be one of my favourite romance reads of the year.

The romance aspect is built well, and then explodes into a constant smut party, which, if you like to read multiple sex scenes, especially back to back, this will appease you. But as someone who prefers intimate scenes to shape the plot, not pause it, I struggled to remain interested when it kept happening. This also led to the portion with the stagnant pacing, which didn't aid in improving the read for me. I did like Eva and Rylie together, especially when they weren't dealing with outsiders dictating how their relationship went, and I also appreciated how the story ended for the pair.

Overall, I wish the story trajectory hadn't exploded as it did, and I could be gushing about this story, not pointing out what made me fall out of love with it.

Thanks to the author and publisher, via NetGalley, for a digital copy to review. All thoughts are my own.

Well, Actually is my first read by Mazey Eddings (despite having at least one of Eddings’ books on my shelf and multiple on my e-reader). However, it was the wonderful cover that initially caught my attention, and pushed me to request an eARC on NetGalley. I was not disappointed, it is / has:
🌭 F/M Second chance romance
🌭 Black cat / golden retrieval
🌭 Diverse characters
🌭 Forced proximity, workplace element

In this story we follow Eva, who after suffering repercussions from a drunken social media post must collaborate with her college ex, Riley, to keep and progress her career. Although collaboration here looks like an interview over hot dogs (Eva’s current segment) and fake(ish) dates!
I really enjoyed Well, Actually - I came to it not knowing what to expect and what I found was a story I didn’t want to put down and characters I wanted to spend time with. Actually, I may be a little obsessed with this one.

Further thoughts below:
• To me it felt Eddings had a distinctive voice, tone and writing style that made this book feel fresh. It was very funny and I laughed out loud (particularly during a moment during Eva and Riley’s the first date).
• I delight in a sharp and prickly main characters, so my heart was soft and smushy for Eva. She had great depth and dimension; I could understand her motivations, her history and actions. I think Eddings deftly made her funny but also showed Eva’s vulnerability and softness.
• Of course I am smitten for Riley, SMITTEN! I love that he challenges Eva but has no desire to change her. Exploring his previous growth to self awareness and emotional intelligence, which happens pre-start of the story, meant he could take ownership of his mistakes - this was great to read.
• The romance was exemplary! Excellent tension through banter and insult (much of which had me smiling), the magnetic draw between Riley and Eva, and basically all of Riley’s actions. The nicknames he uses for Eva *chef’s kiss!
• The sign for me of a good book is my emotional investment. At 72% I was terrified that the characters were going to be hurt in the remaining 28% of the book - I wanted to protect them at all costs!
• The themes explored were also interesting and given room to breathe, these include: loneliness, workplace bullying and harassment, grief and loss, and many more.
• Well, Actually evidently takes inspiration from popular culture and current trends (particularly online trends and issues) so it also feels of the moment (which I like).

However, as much as I loved this one I can see some readers struggling with Eva’s character.

I think this one would be a great read for fans of Beg, Borrow, or Steal by Sarah Adams, Wild Side by Elsie Silver, or Scotch on the Rocks by Elliot Fletcher.

Chicken Shop Date was clearly the inspiration for Well, Actually so I thought it had real potential, but unfortunately it just didn’t land for me.

I struggled to connect with the characters. Eva (the FMC) came across as mean and combative rather than witty, while Riley (the MMC) felt flat, uninspiring and to be honest just boring. The side characters also lacked depth and seemed included more for representation than for anything meaningful. Eva is pansexual, Riley bisexual, Eva’s best friend is a gay black man in a throuple, and Riley’s best friend/roommate is Hispanic and trans. While I appreciated the inclusive intent, the way these identities were handled felt more like ticking a box than including them to be authentic, especially since they played little role in the plot beyond labels.

The pacing also felt off, and the heavy current pop culture and meme references made the book feel gimmicky. I those elements will quickly date the story rather than giving it lasting appeal.

Overall, Well, Actually had a fun premise, but it did not work for me in execution.

⭐️⭐️ (2/5)

I saw a review that that said that asked if this was about Amelia and Andrew Garfield form Chicken Shop Date, and I was quite excited about that prospect. This has all the tropes I love especially second chance romance and black cat and golden retriever. Also the praise in this book, lord have mercy.

Overall a solid romance however, I really disliked Eva. Everything she did and the choices she made infuriated me to the point where I had to stop reading, put the book down and take a break. I also wish we had got to see more of her relationship with both Aida and Ray, these were two fun characters who I feel we just didn't see enough.

This was a fun read and I liked that this was a reverse grumpy-sunshine, with the fmc being the grumpy one.

Eva strives to work her way up to being a journalist while hosting a hotdog eating show, basically catering towards a male centered audience. One drunken night, she scrolls through tiktok and sees her well-liked ex, Rylie; on tiktok. He claims to breakdown male stereotypes and promote healthy relationships. But she's still harboring hurt feelings from her experience with him back in college. So she posts (a rather harsh) tiktok, exposing him for who he was and the video goes viral.

Her boss takes notice of the publics obsession with this viral moment, and at the financial jump this garners. She wants Rylie and Eva to work together.... and date for the podcast. To increase ratings and earn the company more attention and money. Complicated feelings blossom and Eva doesn't know how to handle them. Will she continue to hate Rylie, or will she allow herself to open up to him? All while her boss is in control of the narrative. Will she fight for her job or fight for herself?

I loved how headstrong and stubborn Eva was. She was hard to love but Rylie didn't give up. He had so many green flags, that at times it felt like Eva was being too harsh and it showed her red flags. But as time went on, Rylie challenges her to address her trauma and take a chance.

It was difficult to read through the parts where Eva is in an extremely toxic work environment and getting taken advantage of. But I'm proud of the times she stuck up for herself. And I'm sure this situation happens often. I loved that Rylie didn't give up and that she had amazing friends to support her. It was nice to have trans and bi characters included as well.

Overall I really liked this story, but at times some behaviors felt toxic and Eva became hard to like. I liked the chemistry but the spice needed to be more spaced out. That's saying a lot as someone that likes spicy scenes in romance books. I'm satisfied with the way things ended, although it felt a bit rushed and I would've liked a longer prologue to know more about Rylie and Eva's future together.

A Black Cat x Golden Retriever second chance romance with all of Mazey Eddings’ signature spice and banter, Well,Actually has an unapologetically brash FMC and a slutty little glasses wearing MMC who is down bad for her. While this wasn’t by any means a bad book, I sadly didn’t gel with the characters or find the plot as engaging as Eddings’ previous books (although I adored the character cameos from her other books-i’m here for the Mazeyverse!). The book explored difficult themes in the character’s past and present but I just didn’t feel like it was in enough depth to make me empathise with them and their behaviours. The romance was sizzling and the spice was HOT but I did struggle to feel convinced by it’s development as more than physical relationship- i absolutely feel that it could have been, I just needed to see the development more on the page.

Despite this, there was good banter and an interesting set up and I think fans of contemporary romcoms, especially those who enjoy second chance romances and black cat x golden retriever pairings will enjoy this, I just couldn’t connect as I’d have liked to.

Overall, Well, Actually is a fun read. The premise and dialogues are very much in the zeitgeist, which, can be both the saving grace and the weak point for such a solid book. The dialogues and banter were top-notch, and the first half of the book was a joy to read. But there was something left wanting when it came to the characters, who I found hard to root for.

My complete review for the book will be out in a lit magazine on the release date.
Update: Now available: https://worldreviewofbooks.com/2025/08/08/book-review-mazey-eddings-well-actually/

This was my first Mazey Eddings and I'm officially hooked! Well, Actually was such a delight that I've already read it twice.
I was initially drawn to this by Mazey Eddings’ own social media, partly because I’m really loving prickly leading ladies in recent years and partly because the lover girl in me will always be intrigued by a second-chance romance and to enemies-to-lovers stories. I think these are some of the setups that allow for the most nuanced explorations of character and boy did this deliver while still keeping to the parameters of the genre/early 2000s romcom feel.
Eva in particular is such a layered character, and Eddings does a lovely job of portraying both the way she uses her prickliness and sense of humor as a defense and the vulnerability that she’s afraid of showing. I thought it was fascinating how different her internal monologue is to the exterior she shows, and how much she’s internalized that mask to the point that she finds her own feelings hard to understand and accept. And Rylie Cooper, what a man. This is the ideal of growth and effort that would be exhibited by someone who genuinely wants a second chance, and though I suspect that the real life equivalents are (unfortunately) few and far between, I also think that this is something to aspire to! I loved his kindness and the development of his backstory, and the reasons for his character development rang true to me. Also, his banter with Eva was fantastic. He gave as good as he got and it was so fun to watch them spar as the tension between them grows.
Finally, just a note to say that the rep in this book was beautiful and so naturally done. Both of the MCs are LGBT+ as well as some of the side characters, and there was a mix of backgrounds for the side characters that felt so fitting for New York City and the liberal arts college the main characters attended in the flashbacks. You can tell Mazey Eddings did her research, particularly with the Argentinian elements (this was the first mention of provoleta I’ve ever seen in a book in English and I sure hope it won’t be the last).

Mon premier roman de Mazey Eddings, et sans doute pas le dernier !
On est sur une roman vendu comme une histoire de seconde chance, que je vois plutôt comme un schéma de retrouvailles (comment ça je chipote ? 🤭), puisque les personnages sont brièvement sortis ensemble à la fac et qu'ils se retrouvent quelques années plus tard dans un contexte professionnel.

Il a un podcast très connu, elle anime des interviews un peu WTF avec des célébrités de seconde zone, et tous deux vont conclure un deal, suite à une vidéo virale réalisée par une Eva ivre et pleine d'amertume, qui s'en prenait frontalement à Rylie en voulant régler ses comptes avec lui.
Ils vont se retrouver plusieurs fois pour des rencards, puis les débriefer sous forme d'épisodes de podcasts, et ainsi confronter leurs visions des choses.

Elle, c'est le "black cat" du duo, option chat sauvage. Blessée par les autres et par les hommes, elle hérisse le poil et crache (métaphoriquement bien sûr), balance des piques abruptes, au point d'être parfois méchante. Eva, c'est une nana qui s'est toujours blindée à mort et qui ne baisse pas sa garde, jamais. Elle croque les mecs (ou les nanas) au petit déjeuner et le sarcasme est sa deuxième langue.

Lui, c'est le "golden retriever" par excellence, un mec gentil, qui pourrait être qualifié de "déconstruit" et qui s'emploie à apprendre à ses congénères à se défaire des travers de la masculinité toxique. Rylie est un chouette mec, patient, à l'écoute, qui favorise vraiment la communication et ne cherche pas à rouler des mécaniques pour séduire.

On est sur un rythme de romance plutôt lent, c'est presque du slow burn, car pour approcher Eva, il faut se lever de bonne heure et avoir la patience d'un saint. Et c'est parce qu'ils communiquent qu'ils arrivent à avancer, ce que je trouve sain, mature et rafraichissant.

J'admets que l'attitude d'Eva m'a parfois crispée tant elle peut être dure et butée, mais en même temps, elle reste fidèle à elle-même, et une fois qu'elle est prête à s'ouvrir à Rylie, le "black cat" devient un petit chaton ronronnant (mais toujours prêt à dégainer les griffes ^^).

J'ai passé un bon moment avec ce roman !

This book is fantastic. It's everything I didn't know I needed.

The deadpan (or deadsoul, as Eva would put it) humor was just hilarious. The first date car scene had me crying with laughter for 10 whole minutes!

I loved the characters. Eva is a queen, and I want to kick anyone who has ever made her feel less than that. She is so relatable, and I felt a special connection to her as I have experienced the same feelings she has.

The chemistry and tension between Eva and Rylie are truly delicious. I loved their bickering.

The character development for these two characters was great. Rylie's change from the frat boy who ghosted Eva to the man he is today is great to see. The backstory for him gives such depth to his character. For Eva, we explore her insecurities, rooted in her past with Rylie and her childhood. Her inner monologue gives us a true understanding of what she feels, her anxiety, and how she spirals. It's such an accurate portrayal.

I enjoyed getting to know the side characters and would love to see more of them, maybe in a future book. There is such diverse representation in this book, while also exploring biphobia. The author also sensitively explores grief, workplace bullying, toxic masculinity, and misogyny.

I cannot wait to read more from this author.

Thank you to Headline for the advanced copy.