Well, Actually by 
To be 100% honest, I did not have high expectations when I picked up Well Actually by Mazey Eddings. I thought the concept sounded cute and I loved the cover, but aside from that, I never really cared for second chance romances. I have never been happier to be wrong! This book was absolutely everything to me! I fell madly in love with FMC Eva Kitt, and honestly? She is the best type of FMC – the one I’m always excited to read about. MMC Rylie Cooper took time to grow on me, but he did and I just absolutely loved this!
For possibly the first half of the book, I did not care for Rylie Cooper. I think it wasn’t until he actually shows up for Eva did I start to like him. He’s a tale of two characters – younger, college age frat boy Rylie who was an absolute douchebag, and modern, matured Rylie who believes in therapy and communication. Knowing that he has changed from who he was in Eva’s past wasn’t enough to make me fall in love with him though. I needed him to actually stand up for her, choose her first, before I could get on board. Eva, however, I fell in love with her instantly. She isn’t your quiet, demure doormat. There is a deeply relatable desperation and melancholy within Eva that really speaks true to who we most of us are in our late twenties. Trapped in a demeaning and humiliating job that is a far cry from her dreams and unable to form meaningful romantic relationships, Eva finds herself close to spiraling when she lashes out at ex Rylie. I loved how acerbic she was and that she didn’t just roll over for Rylie and his “good boy” act. She held onto her spite and resentment and God, it was so good to read an FMC that didn’t immediately give in. Eva made Rylie work for it, which is the only reason I was able to get behind him as her love interest.
Pacing was pretty quick. I never felt like this lagged. The tension between Rylie and Eva was great. The romance was the plot – learning to trust again, to forgive, to love. I especially loved the subplot of learning how to be an adult in the workplace and realizing the way business works in the real world. It feels like something that can only be learned through experience, and watching Eva experience it? Heartbreaking. Realistic. Validating.
I absolutely recommend Well Actually by Mazey Eddings. This was such a great read with amazingly relatable characters. I think Eva might have already made it to my list of top FMCs. If you like FMCs that are simpering doormats, you won’t like this. But if you want to read about a character that is flawed and guarded, this will be amazing.