Just got through with "Tell Me How You Really Feel" by Aminah Mae Safi, and it's like a breath of fresh, fun air in the world of YA rom-coms.

The story's about Sana and Rachel, two high school girls who couldn't be more different. Sana's the cheerleader with a perfect record, while Rachel's the aspiring filmmaker with a bit of a chip on her shoulder. When their paths cross, sparks fly, but not necessarily the good kind – at first. It's a classic enemies-to-lovers setup with a twist, and it's as charming as it is relatable.

The narration is a total winner. The narrator captures the essence of both Sana and Rachel, bringing out their distinct personalities, their banter, and all the emotional ups and downs. It's like listening to your two best friends bicker and bond.

Aminah Mae Safi's writing style is lively and engaging. She nails the teenage voice, making the dialogue pop and the emotional moments feel real. The way she portrays high school life, with all its drama and intensity, is spot-on.

What I love about this book is how it's not just about the romance. It's also about figuring out who you are, standing up for what you want, and dealing with family and future pressures. Plus, the representation is awesome – it's refreshing to see a diverse cast of characters taking center stage.

The pacing keeps the story moving along nicely, balancing the sweet, romantic moments with the more serious, introspective ones.

Okay, so I enjoyed this quite a bit. Another NetGally Audiobook that I ran out of time to listen to so I ended up purchasing a copy on audible and then enjoyed it so much that I ordered a physical copy to add to my shelves. (apparently I need to quit it with the netGalley books cause I keep buying them! lol).

So This is an "enemies" to lovers sapphic romance apparently inspired by Gilmore girls (Paris) and although I was annoyed by Rachel in the beginning, I got really into it and really enjoyed it. The audio book is narrated by the author which I forgot until the end where I was like "oh yeah, she did a great job". I dunno, it was cute, I really liked it not sure what else to say.

This is a hate to love story based on a misunderstanding where, in their freshman year, Rachel thought Sana asked her out as a prank. Flash forward to senior year where they are forced to work on a movie together when they literally knocked into each other and a school camera is damaged. This book was almost a DNF for me several times, but I try to never stop once I have started a book, hoping what isn’t working will fix itself.

What is my problem you ask? The characters are completely two dimensional. It is an endless storyline of two characters that are somehow written so I don’t care about them. I want to care about them, and continued to read in hopes I would, but I felt very little investment in the words. This is unusual for me in reading a book as that is what always is the first thing I like about a book and will forgive poor worldbuilding or story, if I care about the characters. It may be that I just read a few Brigid Kemmerer books and her character development is amazing and makes you feel like you know them, so alive that she must know her characters in real life.

But I digress, yes the cover is lovely and provides a great picture of her characters, but a cover can’t carry the entirely of the book. In the end, we as readers are left with a forgettable story.

3.5 stars. This was solid YA romance. I enjoyed how their queerness was just a fact and not a storyline. I enjoyed the journey both characters went on, especially Sana.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

Tell Me How You Really Feel was a cute sapphic contemporary that I quite enjoyed. I really appreciated the representation with Sana being South Asian-American and lesbian and Rachel being Mexican-American, Jewish and lesbian. The romance could've been developed a bit more but the plot was pretty well paced and entertaining. I love when a book is narrated by the author because their passion for the book always shines through and it was no different with this one.

I didn't get around to finishing the audiobook before it was archived last year but recently listened to it again and still wanted to write a quick review.

I gotta appreciate a Sapphic love story with a grumpy/sunshine dynamic. I would easily recommend this to others.

Thank you for NetGalley for sending me the audiobook to review.

This was a DNF for me, mostly because of the format of the book. I think I would prefer to read this one on the page. The narration in the audiobook felt stiff and I was not engaged with the storyline because it was difficult to listen to and be focused on enough to follow along with. This rating is based on my audiobook experience, not the story itself.

I really didn't get on with this audiobook and if I'm honest, I think I zoned out. It just wasn't for me - i don't know if it was the book itself or the narrator but unfortunately, despite being really excited for this, it just didn't work out.

I expected more from this. it was a cute lgbtq novel but I was hoping it was more involved and detailed. it defiantly lacked that and that's why I knocked this down a few stars.

Just a lovely coming of age story. Learning what it means to find yourself and authentically show that self to the world around you. I wish I'd had something like this when I was younger.

DNF at 60%

Y'all I hate to do this, but this audiobook quality was so bad. The narration was stiff, and you could tell some snippets were pieced together because the sound quality changed.

I may try this book in a another format later, but the audio was a no-go.

I keep trying to read this title and I cant get through the print book and it was a serious slog to finish the audiobook. I have no idea why. Due to this I will not be posting a review on Goodreads since I was pretty ambivalent - didn't love it but also didn't hate it.

I'd like to thank NetGalley for sending me an arc of the audio copy.

I really really wanted to like this but the narrative voices were too similar to each other and I generally did not like the characters. I don't usually dnf arcs but after MONTHS of trying to read this, I am letting this book go. It simply was not for me.

This book was a lot of fun to read! There was a good mix between lighthearted lovely romance and emotional scenes. Would definitely recommend this book!

The themes and romance seemed intriguing and exciting. I don't know what it was but I couldn't get into the story. I was uninterested when I started to read this romance.

The one thing that threw me off was the narrator - there were minimal variations in the characters' voices - which made it a little harder for me to distinguish the character as well as find them.

I didn't get to complete this book before the audiobook expired. I hope that it got better after the lackluster start.


I am giving this book a 2.75 due to the effort and because I hadn't finished the book to completely judge if it turned around

Oh my goodness I liked this so much. It's such a cute story that gave me some sapphic Paris and Rory vibes. I liked both characters but Sana really shined. Both Sana and Rachel feel real and flawed and it was so nice to see a character who wants to be a director rather than an actor. I also really enjoyed the parallel between the 'perfect' cheerleader Sana and Helen of Troy, it helped highlight some internalized misogyny.

This did follow the classic issue where a conversation would solve many of their problems. But I liked the characters and it was a cute enough story to forgive that.

I also liked the narration. I didn't initially realize the author did the narration as well, which I thought was pretty neat. She did a good job portraying the characters

Oh, I really liked this book! I love that it takes place at the backdrop of a film set, and how the main character doesn’t necessarily want to be An Actor but rather a director, which isn’t often seen. And I love a sapphic misunderstood-rivals to lovers! This was ultimately just really sweet. Four stars. Booksweet link. Storygraph link.

“Tell Me How You Really Feel” by Aminah Mae Safi is a great book to read or listen to if you are looking for a story about high-school ambitious characters with complex histories and feelings.

The story is narrated for a dual point of view. On one side, we have Rachel Recht, an ambitious high-school movie director who is looking to get into the best cinema school through the senior film project. She’s strong headed, knows what she wants, has a clear vision for her movie, but is missing a main character. On the other side, Sana Khan, another strong headed student in her final year at the same school is the perfect fit. Being an overachiever and determined to dedicate her life to medicine, Sara is not considering an acting side act, until circumstances free up her calendar.

The story is well-crafted, with a lot of beautifully narrated and emotional scenes. The beginning of the book might seem a bit slow, but that is just because Safi needs time to introduce her characters. Afterwards, the story starts picking up pace ad turns into a real page turner towards the end, with a focus on the growing emotional bond between Rachel and Sana.

Special thanks to NetGalley, OrangeSky Audio, and the editorial team for giving me the opportunity to review the ARC in audiobook format and to you, my reader, for taking the time to read this honest personal book review.

If you are interested in other of my book reviews, make sure to follow me on GoodReads!

#LifeLongLearning #TellMeHowYouReallyFeel #NetGalley

This was such a cute and wholesome enemies to lovers story. I loved that this was was a sapphic and diverse homage to Gilmore Girls where Rory and Paris ended up together. The multicultural representation was great too. Both girl’s race, religion and sexuality were never questioned or challenged and I loved that!

I also loved that the author narrated her own book. It was a little difficult to differentiate Sana from Rachel. Their voices were too similar and it was easy to get confused about who was speaking. She did a great job overall and it was fun seeing an author narrating their own work.

Thank you to NetGallery and to OrangeSky Audio for giving me a copy for my honest review.