Well Actually – Past Midnight Book Reviews & More

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️

Title: Well, Actually

Author: Mazey Eddings

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 384

Publication Date: 8/5/25

Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin

Categories: Contemporary Romance, LGBT+, Second Chance Romance

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to St. Martin’s Griffin for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

An utterly delightful and sexy second-chance romance between a black cat and golden retriever with Mazey Edding’s signature sparkling voice!

Eva Kitt never expected to be the host of Sausage Talk, interviewing B-list celebrities over lukewarm hot dogs, instead of pursuing the journalism career she dreamed of. But when Eva’s impromptu public call out of her college ex goes viral, she’s thrust into the spotlight. It doesn’t help said ex is Rylie Cooper, a beloved social media personality that has built a platform on deconstructing toxic masculinity and teaching men how to be good partners.

Forced to confront Rylie on a live episode of Sausage Talk, he offers Eva a deal: allow him to take her on a series of dates to make up for his toxic behavior, then debrief them on his channel to show he’s changed. Eva refuses to play nice, but agrees to the scheme to advance her own career and continue defaming Rylie’s good name. When these manufactured dates start to feel real, Eva has to wonder if the boy that broke her heart has become the man that might heal it.

Content Warning: biphobia, misogyny, death of a family member

+ This is a second chance romance with a grumpy/sunshine trope but this time the woman is the grump, which I thought was fun. Eva Kitt is stuck and stagnant in her career goals, she hosts a show where she eats hot dogs while interviewing celebrities and that is far from her journalist dreams but she needs to make ends meet so she’s sticking it out. Until one drunken night she posts something that goes viral and basically changes her life, according to her, for the worse but in the end it was for the best.

+ Rylie Cooper is a famous podcaster and he’s the guy Eva blasted in a post that went viral. When both their jobs suggest they grab the opportunity of her viral success and put them together they come face to face again, and this time Rylie is trying his best to not lose her again. They agree to go on 6 dates for Rylie to win her back and she gets to critique the dates on his podcast. I thought it was interesting how Eva’s personality played out with the audience. Comments about Rylie was always about him being hot. Whereas Eva was hot but that didn’t matter – people said mean things about her because she came off as a bitch. I love Eva and her cynicism.

+ Eva is so spicy and Rylie is so sweet that the two of them together was fun. Eva comes off mean but it’s her armor. She’s had a lot of childhood experiences that made her feel invisible and unwanted. Rylie has his own issues too with grief and his sexuality, and when they finally get honest with one another, it’s a beautiful thing. The fact that he has the patience of a saint with Eva speaks volumes about how much he cares about her and I loved it. I loved their verbal banter and battles, the spicy scenes between them and just seeing them give love another chance.

~ Now I love Eva, but there were times I wanted her to drop the armor and just let Rylie hug her or something. But I totally relate to her also, I like armor. Still Rylie is so nice, even though he did show at times he did have limits, she did push his buttons a lot. She had to learn to accept affection and praise, and he was always there not judging her.

Final Thoughts:

I found this refreshing because of Eva – maybe I’m just reading too many female characters who are always the same but having her being the grump was fun. And I loved Rylie, who is the sunshine! I found both characters relatable and I loved how they faced their issues even if it was hard for both of them to admit some things. The banter and verbal battles was lots of fun, and the spicy scenes between just adds to it. I enjoyed this one!