This was a cute book. It was a quick and easy read. It’s a book I would recommend to a friend. I always love a good romance that can make you laugh at points too.

This was a new author for me and I enjoyed this romance. It was sweet and fun. The characters were good! I liked their story and romance! The banter was good too! Just a wonderful read:)

More like 3.5 stars.

Maeve and Finn have signed a significant deal for their podcast, but because of their history they are not keen about working together. Forced to do so to ensure their success and significant financial success, the story takes us through their ups and downs.

Their story was so heavily based on the miscommunication trope, which I am not a fan of. As the reader, knowing that if they would just be honest with each other was extremely frustrating. They also weren't very mature in their actions, which made reading certain scenes uncomfortable.

I did enjoy some of the themes around gender pay issues and ruthlessness in the workplace.

Overall this was not my favorite.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is a second chance romance that I wanted to love but didn't. It ended up having my least favorite trope ever - miscommunication - and combined with second chance I just could not engage with this book. 2 stars.

Finn and Maeve have just secured a huge deal for their sex and relationship advice podcast. Unfortunately, they had a falling out and are no longer even friends. Maeve wants to figure out how to keep the podcast going and Finn wants to win her back.

I just wasn’t captivated by this one. Second chance romance is one of my favorite tropes, but I had a hard time with these characters. The book is dual POV and dual timeline, which made it a little hard to follow (especially because the “past” timeline was not that long ago).

There was a lot of miscommunication in this book! Maeve (who is a therapist) would know exactly what to say to podcast listeners asking for advice, but then she could not actually say what she meant when interacting with Finn. It got pretty frustrating when it happened multiple times. I did appreciate the discussion through the podcast about the gender pay gap and inequity in the workplace. Overall, this book just wasn’t for me.

Thank you to Betty Cayouette, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for this e-ARC; opinions are my own.

“Tell Me How You Really Feel” was an enjoyable story. I liked the characters of Maeve and Finn and the dynamic between them when they were comfortable with each other, the openness and trust and intimacy (in both a sexual and emotional sense). The author does a good job of addressing Maeve’s anxiety and insecurities, and the complications this causes between her and Finn. Especially as Finn’s wealth and privilege allow him to be unintentionally oblivious to disparities in how they are treated. He advocates for her and tries to make it clear that she is the genius behind the podcast, but his wealth and influence allow him to “fix” problems and bypass obstacles that others cannot, which adds to Maeve’s insecurity and self-doubt.

Such a fun read! I loved the force proximity and the storyline, and the way the characters are built. I definitely recommend checking this book out, and I'll be reading more of Betty Cayouette's work!

Thank you to St Martins Press and NetGalley for a copy of Tell Me How You Really Feel. I liked the premise of the book and it was fun to think about the behind the scenes lives of podcasters. I liked the idea of their show and know will be on the hunt to find something like that in real life. It was cute and romantic. I did like the parts revolving around mental health and pay gaps. Overall though, it felt like a pretty standard romance novel to me with lots of ups and downs for the characters.

Tell Me How You Really Feel is a friends to lovers contemporary romance

Told in first Person alternating point of view this novel is full of miscommunication.

Tell Me How You Really Feel is about a podcast hosting duo who make it rich and have to deal with their feelings for each other through it. I do feel like I was dumped in the middle of a story, like there was some other book I was supposed to read first to understand what was happening but I think it was just the way it was told. I liked the book and liked the back and forth with the flashbacks but I didnt love it. I would have loved to see more of their backstory and it told more linear, i think its a personal thing and would have resonated more with me. But it was a fun and quick read.

Unfortunately, this book fell flat for me. It was fairly predictable - except for the fact that I assumed that Finn had royally messed up. When in reality, he didn't do anything wrong... and Maeve just acted like a child.

I received a ARC for this friends to lover romance book. Two friends start a podcast and when fame is on the rise, they take it to the next step and hook up. This changes the work dynamics. They then get a opportunity to become the highest paid podcasters . . . but they cannot be in the same room together, but only one feels this way.
3.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Unfortunately, Tell Me How You Really Feel didn’t work for me. While the concept of two exes navigating fame and forced proximity through a popular podcast had potential, the execution fell flat.

The main issue for me was the lack of chemistry and emotional depth between Maeve and Finn. The constant back-and-forth, both in the timeline and in their dynamic, made it hard to stay engaged or root for them as a couple. I struggled to connect with either character—both felt underdeveloped and often came across as immature or inconsistent.

The podcast premise was interesting on paper but wasn’t fully integrated into the plot in a compelling way. Instead of enhancing the story, it often felt like a background detail rather than a driving force.

I wanted to love this, especially as a fan of second-chance romances and media-centered stories, but this one missed the mark for me. Other readers may connect with the style and tone, but sadly, I just couldn’t.

"Tell Me How You Really Feel" was a combination of a second-chance romance and a soapbox. And while I truly enjoy a good plot twist, this book went on too long. A good editor could have reduced this by a third to create a tighter and more compelling story, but the biggest challenge I had was accepting how insecure the main female character, Maeve, was when she's a licensed therapist hoping to help other people deal with their own challenges in life. What's that old saying? "Physician, heal thyself!" As someone who continually advocated that her podcast listeners should learn to communicate their wants and needs, almost every misunderstanding in this story stemmed from either Maeve or Finn not communicating well with the other.

As for the soapbox, the latter part of the book focused a lot on the disparity of pay between males and females performing the same work, and while I agree that equally skilled individuals should receive equal pay, regardless of their gender, this whole conversation was introduced around the time that I was ready for Maeve and Finn to figure things out already.

There were definitely parts of the story that I enjoyed. But it would have been nice to figure out which secondary storylines to pay attention to and let the others go.

Thank you to Betty Cayouette, St. Martins Press, and NetGalley for an advance review copy.

This one is hard for me. I like the premise but holy crap both characters kinda sucked. Maeve has been in therapy for years and still doesn’t know how to effectively communicate her feelings, granted people slide backwards in therapy sometimes but to still not be able to confront your best friend about your feelings? Dang. Finn saying he’s been in love with her forever and then as soon as she presses pause to figure out her feelings instead of asking her to have a conversation about said feelings after the designated time he asks instead if she cares if he tries dating his first kiss instead? Communication was nonexistent between these two despite literally hosting a podcast about relationships

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

What starts as a friends-to-lovers, second-chance romance with podcast drama vibes turns into a deeper story about growth, feminism, and mental health. I really appreciated how therapy and anxiety were portrayed realistically and positively. Maeve and Finn felt flawed in a believable way, especially Finn, who had to own up to his mistakes. The tropes and drama made it a fun read.

I received a complimentary copy of this ebook. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

oof, this is a hard one to review because while the premise sounded promising, the execution was a fail. I can enjoy miscommunication to a certain point but this was...wow - done horribly wrong! Sadly, the book was unrealistic and I could not stand any of the characters.

This was just OK. Not something I was super invested in, but I finished it with no issues. I do find it to be easily forgettable.

Enjoyable read - predictable, but I'm never against predictability in books, its why I like this genre!