My entire reading experience with this novel can be described as "FUN"! This was made a "read now" on Net Galley a while ago and my book bestie and I decided to read it together as a buddy read, and I can say that having a person to read and react with in real time made my reading experience so much better than normal. We do not typically get the same Advanced Copies, so this was a treat. Thank you Macmillan and Net Galley for the opportunity to have this reading experience.
Obviously, from the cover this is a Romance novel. It falls into the Rom-Com genre and it has an ultra-contemporary setting, which was realistic and relatable. Both my reading buddy and I really loved the book. I am not sure what her expectations were, but I will be the first to admit mine were kind of low. The romance genre is very saturated, so sometimes there are duds. THIS IS NOT A DUD! It really was a fun novel filled with relatable characters and experiences. If you'd like to see my Buddy and I react to this, here's a link
In short, Eva and Riley are graduates from the same college where they had a brief, unpleasant dating experience. Post graduation they are both living their best life as social media personalities. Eva hosts a ridiculous show where low level celebs attempt to resurrect their brands. Riley podcasts dating advice to men on how to not be awful. Eva comes across one of his shorts and - being several glasses of wine in- responds to remind him of her experience with him in college. As Social Media is known to do- this response blows up- and their brands smell an opportunity. If you consume social media, you know this is... golden content that viewers love- and you probably also know it can be quite damaging to the actual people involved. This is the story of a second chance romance in our modern world or How Riley re-met Eva via the power of Social Media.
Eddings did a fantastic job of really getting right into the perils and the joys of modern life. The story is told with some nuance that is often missing from the contemporary romance genre. Riley is not a "alpha male", but he's also not a weak character and Eva is a hard hitting difficult character, but not one that you have trouble imagining being in your inner circle. Both could be your co-worker. These characters are relatable, and struggling with/engaging with things that ALOT of young people are encountering in that very bizarre time right after college. Texts between my friend and I as we read this included phrases like "I feel so seen!" and "This may be TOO RELATABLE" (it did also include some discussion of how many hot dogs one could eat in a day, and if we wanted to do hot dogs for our video review...) Eddings leans in a bit to modern day references, but is able to balance references to popular social media site, and tropes etc, with a plot that follows through with the witty banter we all enjoy and a solid plot while gives readers a truly satisfying ending. One of the biggest lessons learned is that it's so important to not make assumptions about others behaviors in relationship. We do not always have the whole story and when we take the time to get the whole story, we can respond in a way that is most appropriate.
So, for me, this is a cut above many romance novels and one that will be enjoyed by many when it is released in August! I do suggest that you pop it on your list. It would again be perfect for a beach read, lake house read, or... a staycation read.
STATS
First Published : August 2025
Pages: 384
Available as an Audio Book : YES
Trigger Warnings: child death, divorce, mental health,
As always - this is not a complete list, read responsibly!
So neat that you both got the ARC! Romance isn't my thing, I like your scifi reviews, butit looks like you had a lot of fun with it! loves the video!
ReplyDeleteIt was a read now for 24 hours, so we both grabbed it, but it was so much fun! AND, I had never read anything by Mazey Eddings. I have low expectations of things with cartoon characters, but this book offered a lot of representation of "today's youth" and the very real stuggles with the hustle of modern life. I was surprised and I know I enjoyed it more because I could read and react with a friend.
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