Well, Actually

Eddings (Late Bloomer) takes clear inspiration from Chicken Shop Date in this witty contemporary. Sharp-tongued Eva Kitt, 27, aspires to be a serious journalist. For now, however, she’s the host of Sausage Talk, a social media video series in which she interviews lesser-known celebrities while eating and opining about hot dog preferences. Meanwhile, her college ex Rylie Cooper, a frat bro who ghosted her, has made a name for himself as a well-respected podcaster focused on unlearning toxic masculinity. When Eva makes a drunken post detailing their history and calling out his hypocrisy, her rant goes viral and her boss forces her to bring Rylie onto the show. During the interview, ever-charming Rylie gets Eva to agree to go on six dates with him so he can prove he has changed. This project gets off to a bumpy start, but even as awkward and tense moments abound, Eva can’t shake her attraction to Rylie—especially when he opens up to her about the traumatic reason why he stopped answering her calls. Eddings’s unflinching depiction of toxic social media comments adds authenticity and depth to the proceedings. The setup is clever and the eventual love scenes are sensuous. The author’s fans will not be disappointed. (Aug.)