This one really tested my patience with the miscommunication trope.

While I understand that some tension is necessary in romance, this book pushed that trope to its absolute limit. The main characters constantly talk about honesty, accountability, and building a healthy relationship—but their actions repeatedly contradict their words. It gave major “do as I say, not as I do” energy, and that disconnect made it hard for me to stay invested.

The story is told through a dual timeline of present-day and flashbacks, and I will say the author does an excellent job laying the groundwork. You get a clear sense of the characters’ history, emotional baggage, and why they struggle the way they do. Unfortunately, that strong foundation didn’t quite pay off for me.

It felt like less than 10% of the book showed the couple actually together and happy. I was rooting for them for a good part of the story, but by the end, I was so frustrated with their dynamic that I didn’t really care whether they made it or not.

I do enjoy the author’s writing style and would definitely read more from her in the future—but I sincerely hope she takes a break from the miscommunication trope in her next book. These characters just weren’t it for me.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC

The miscommunication trope between main characters that have built their entire friendship and career off of being fully open and honest but are the complete opposite... I don't really like reading red flag main characters that I'm supposed to be cheering on. I think I would have been less annoyed if Finn was a better human.

*Provided a DRC (digital review copy) from the publisher for review. All opinions are my own.

Tell Me How You Really Feel by Betty Cayouette offers a fresh and engaging look at a complicated podcasting duo trying to navigate fame, past heartbreak, and their rekindled feelings. Maeve and Finn’s viral show about sex and relationships has landed them a major deal, but their rocky history makes working together a tense balancing act.

The dual timeline—jumping between the early days of their podcast and the present—adds depth to their evolving relationship and showcases their chemistry. Cayouette’s sharp dialogue and contemporary setting make for an entertaining read.

While the premise is promising and the characters relatable, some plot points feel predictable, and the emotional arcs occasionally lack the impact they could have had. Fans of slow-burn romances with a modern twist will find this a worthwhile, if somewhat familiar, story.

Podcasts have become a regular part of many peoples' lives. Maeve and Finn's show was started on a drunken whim and threw them into stardom. Well, Finn has experienced stardom pretty much all of his life as the child of a Hollywood power couple. This book is a friends to lovers trope that depends highly on misunderstandings and unspoken feelings. However, Cayoutte delivers in an entertaining manner that compels the reader to keep reading. I will check out her last book and get ready for her next!

Charming and Cute


I have a hard time getting into the super cute, fluffy rom-coms. Not because they’re poorly written—plenty are great—but because I’m a self-confessed book snob. Takes a theatrical snarky bow.
Tell Me How You Really Feel by Betty Cayouette was my first book by this author, and I’m giving it a solid 3.5 stars. It’s smart, spicy, and built around a concept that really works: Maeve and Finn co-host a hit podcast where no topic is off-limits. I mean nothing is sacred—everything from how to maintain a healthy relationship to how to make your partner climax is on the table. It’s bold, funny, and surprisingly insightful.

The twist? Maeve and Finn can’t stand each other.

They’re locked into a contract, so quitting isn’t an option. The only choice? Fake it for the mic. Off-air, the tension simmers. On-air, they have to sell the chemistry. But as the lines blur, the question becomes: is there something real under all that snark and banter?
The podcast format added a fresh layer to the story—it gave the characters a space to be raw, awkward, funny, and vulnerable. And I have to say, it made for some genuinely entertaining moments. I laughed out loud more than once.
Normally, the miscommunication trope makes me roll my eyes, and yes, there were moments here where I wanted to shake both Maeve and Finn (especially Finn—his choices were... questionable). But somehow, it worked. Their flaws made them feel human. The tension wasn’t overdone, and the emotional payoff hit just right.

What really stood out, though, were the side characters. They weren’t just background noise—they added humor, heart, and a grounding presence that made the story feel more complete. Whether it was Maeve’s brutally honest best friend or Finn’s surprisingly thoughtful circle, they brought a lot to the table, and I genuinely enjoyed every scene they were in.

The ending pulled everything together in a satisfying way. I’m not usually the type to get weepy over a romance, but this one got me. A few happy tears may have been shed. I loved how it wrapped up without going over-the-top or too cheesy.

Overall, a fun, sharp, emotionally grounded read with just the right amount of heat and heart. I’m definitely interested to see what Betty Cayouette comes out with next.

I really enjoyed Tell Me How You Really Feel while I was reading it, but the details quickly faded, and I haven't really thought about it since. So...do with that what you will. It's a quick, fun, feminist read, about gender equality, the pay gap, and having to work and get along with an ex, that maybe you're not really over.

It's about a sex and relationship podcast that goes viral and gets picked up by a big production company for more episodes and a lot of money. Only problem, they want both hosts--and they've had a bit of a falling out. They went from best friends to best friends with benefits/awkward situationship to nothing, and now they have to find a way to work together and still make their podcast a success. Can Finn win back Maeve's trust after he broke them apart? And can their fragile trust withstand all the new revelations that just seem to keep coming?

Overall, it's a cute story and a fun summer read. Thanks to SMP for the advance review copy.

I didn't particularly enjoy this one as much as her debut unfortunately. it did touch topics like gender pay gap & sexuality but other than that I didnt really care for the story. the characters were kind of annoying.

The premise of the story is cute enough, and in understand writing characters with anxiety, yet I found myself on more than one occasion thinking “girl, you’re better than this. Get your shit together”. Some of the dialogue felt pedantic and I just wanted the characters to be smarter.

I was provided a complimentary e-galley by St Martin’s Griffin on NetGalley.

I just finished Tell Me How You Really Feel by Betty Cayouette and here are my musings.

Maeve and Finn have a hit podcast… All about sex and relationships… He has the star quality and she has the knowledge… They are about to be brought but they cannot be in the same room. Maeve feels betrayed and Finn wants to prove himself to her but can they get past themselves to be honest with each other… The way they are honest with their audience?

I actually enjoyed this one more than others seemed to. I thought it was lighthearted and super fun! I did a lot of laughing which is exactly what I want from a rom-com. Now, I will confess there wasn’t much in the way of romance but I did like the build up. Friends with sexual chemistry is always a win for me.

I wasn’t a fan of Finn. He was an epic nepo baby and he was a bit of a brat but I do think he was balanced out with Maeve which pleased me immensely. Now I am well known for my hatred of miscommunication and honestly, they were both the issue here. She put the brakes on, asked for space for a set amount of time and then the time crept passed and still she didn’t give him an answer. She basically ghosted him. So when someone points this out… he asks, and she sends him to be with someone else. So he did. UGHHHHH. It is not my jam but there was enough good stuff that I could get past the miscommunication.


I thought the writing was good and I will look for more from this author but I was hoping for a bit more. Maybe less drama and slightly more likeable characters then this would have been a true win.

I bet the audio would have been great!

3.5 stars

The story was fun and lighthearted and I had a good time reading it.
This was a wonderfully written romantic comedy.
I absolutely loved these characters and really enjoyed getting to know them.
A sweet, funny and heartwarming read!

Maeve and Finn have been friends since college and are cohosts of one of the most popular podcasts Tell Me How You Really Feel. After signing one of the biggest podcast deals ever, Finn and Maeve have a falling out. Despite their falling out, the show must go on and the pair must find a way to work together to fulfill their contract.

Tell Me How You Really Feel was a book that I was so excited to read. I really wanted to love this book, but it just fell flat for me. This book focuses heavily on a second chance romance between the two main characters. While I normally enjoy second chance romances, the issues between our two main characters just felt so repetitive. Every fight felt like it would get resolved between the two characters and then would be brought up again a few chapters later. Both characters just felt incredibly immature, and for a book that was so focused on communication, the lack of effective communication was frustrating to read.

Another big element of this book discusses female empowerment and the gender pay gap. Maeve, the female main character, has a contract incentive that will allow her to become to highest paid female podcast host if Tell Me How You Really Feel can maintain a spot as the number one podcast for 6 consecutive weeks. While this is a topic that can be interesting in a book, the execution fell flat. The way it was brought up in the book felt more like I was being lectured instead of reading it in the book.

I really wanted to love this book, but it just fell flat for me. Thank you so much to the publisher for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

thanks to NetGalley for the eAR

⭐️=1 | 😘=5 | 🤬=4.5 | 🍺/🚬=2 | 18+

summary: it’s like a second chance/situationship-type thing with a nepo baby celebrity MMC and a just-an-ordinary-girl FMC who met in college and have this podcast together and need to get over their past drama and fall in love or whatever??

thoughts: I’m so sorry, but this is such an irredeemable, jobless MMC. biggest turn off in a romance novel is when the guy (and this happens overwhelmingly in straight romance novels) gets depressed halfway through because the FMC doesn’t like him and he gets drunk and makes out with or has sex with someone else or a bunch of someone elses and then I’m just supposed to like… forget about that by the end?? literally doesn’t matter if he and the FMC aren’t together yet, it’s still absolutely unacceptable as a plot device within the context of a romance novel. like how am I supposed to believe that the FMC would forget about it or forgive him for that???? especially bc in this book he kissed her right before then?? be serious.

80% through (!!) the nepo baby MMC has a convo with his famous actress mom where she’s like “son you need to start acting again and/or get a real job” and he’s like “the podcast is my job!!” and she’s like “…you do that one day a week that’s not a job??” and like the mom is SO right!! and also the FMC does most of the work for their podcast anyway????? so what am i supposed to like about this man????????????? imagine putting the “you need to get a job” conversation 80% of the way through your novel instead of near the beginning or maybe at the halfway point where it could serve as the inciting incident for some character development?? 80%????? and then at the 91% mark she says, and I quote, “Finn, you’re an adult” and like IMAGINE your love interest needing to be told that at the END OF THE NOVEL?? he never truly had a nepo baby glow up arc and it’s so embarrassing

also he can’t communicate to save his life or read emails or make sure that he and his COHOST ARE BEING PAID THE SAME AMOUNT OF MONEY which is a very frustrating addition to the third act!! i hate him!! he uses his rich parents to solve all his problems!!!!!!!!! yikes!! tbh in another timeline this book was haphazard general fiction about a toxic relationship and celebrities and the pay gap or something

also he’s super whiny?? and his “grand gesture” wasn’t something he had been working on for a lot of the book so it didn’t feel like a specific apology????????????? anyways i hate him!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

This book was just not what I was expected on any level. The "romance" was non-existant and the cheating was just rampant. To the point where I gave up and DNF'd this book at 22% It was just so bad.

Can't really comment on the author herself as I have not read her work before, but this book was just not it.

Maeve should be living the dream, she's sold her viral sex and relationship podcast for more money than she could have ever imagined. But her co-host treated her terribly, and she wants absolutely nothing to do with him anymore, let alone sit in the same room and talk about feelings and relationships. Finn knows he screwed up with Maeve and is willing to do anything to make it up to her, but can he overcome the blindspots leftover from his privileged background to show Maeve how he really feels?

I should have liked this more than I ended up doing because it's right up my alley, alas, Maeve and Finn were already a long-time couple in denial who just needed to communicate and mature to advance with their relationship. It kept annoying me that they couldn't solve it. Most of the conflict stems from their inability to voice their feelings, which is ironically amusing since their whole claim to fame is a podcast encouraging people to express their feelings. It's an interesting juxtaposition that what they do for a living can't help them solve the issues in their life, but happens so many times that it gets repetitive.

Otherwise, it's an interesting rom-com that puts a lot of emphasis on the way women are treated in the workforce, media, and even in relationships. The message is solid and well-represented without ever feeling like you're getting lectured. It's a fine line to manage and I commend Cayouette for doing it.

Happy thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the emotional read!

This book was a complete mess and I honestly can’t believe I finished it. The MMC is a train wreck and super toxic. The FMC is immature and lets him walk all over her and treat her terribly. I am so mad that I wasted my time with this one. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for the eARC.

The editor's blurb/description sounded great. I enjoy a good enemies to more, second chance romance. There is something wonderful about people getting out of their own way and finding their way back to each other. We typically meet two characters who are forced back together with zero choice in the matter and have to figure it out. A little will they, won’t they, some romance, snark, wit and humor that lead to a happily ever after. We did get that, but for me the two main characters, Maeve and Finn were quite unlikable. I found her somewhat less annoying, but mostly found both of them pompous, obnoxious, immature and obtuse. I like her writing style, but this one was a bit of a let down for me. Would have rated 2.5 if half stars were available.

I didn't love this but also didn't hate it. Very slow start for me and the MFC, Maeve, made me want to pull my hair out.

Maeve and Finn are old college friends (the best of friends) who cohost a popular podcast, Tell Me How You Really Feel, where listeners can go for all the sex and relationship advise with no filter. The podcast was great for both of them until they had their own personal falling out. Now, the show must go on, with them working together and attempting to put the past behind them.

There were parts of this I really enjoyed:
*Advocating for women's pay equality
* Fun banter and playful relationship during a good portion of the book
* The Podcast, I think anyone would love to listen to Maeve & Finn's podcast IRL and not just read about it!

Maeve is quite infuriating. Overall, I didn't enjoy her character- she was quick to get angry with the MMC, Finn, and there was a complete lack of effective communication between them. Maeve is the queen of walking away and avoiding. This is one of my least favorite tropes (miscommunication) and it was a recurring theme in their story.

This is definitely not your fun, light romance read. It is really quite stressful when you're the type of reader that fully engages with the characters. I would still try future work by Betty Cayouette and I appreciate this advanced copy gifted by NetGalley and St. Martin's press in exchange for my honest opinion!

I loved the podcast aspect of this book, I need to check to see if there's anything out there like it. I loved having the different timelines in the book. Getting to see present day and then going back and seeing how things began and how it all went wrong. I loved that she chose to live in a murder house and how they brought it up constantly in the book. Some of the drama in the book made me want to pull my hair out, but overall I really enjoyed this story.

This one wasn’t for me. It has a good premise but I just couldn’t connect or feel interested in the characters or their stories. Stick to Betty’s first book. I enjoyed that way more. Maybe this is a case of the sophomore slump

There is nothing wrong with this rom com. I think it’s me the reader. I have aged out of the contemporary romance. I don’t connect with Gen Z and its nuances.

I would love to see a contemporary romance com with a Gen X navigating the world.

Synopsis Two podcast stars must navigate their relationship ups and downs. Both are in love with each other and just won’t communicate.