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.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed this book. I loved the storyline and thought the characters had great growth. I would definitely recommend this book.

Very slow start to the story and was difficult to connect with the characters. Had a difficult time getting through it and the ending felt super rushed compared to the rest of the book.

I found the MMC so irritating for the most part. Sure, he was trying his best to get the FMC the recognition she deserved, but whenever he was called out about something, he would go about it the wrong way to try to fix the situation. I loved that we witnessed the FMC's growth as she became more comfortable in who she was and the fact that she deserved to take up space in the podcasting industry.

Really liked the premise but didn't think the book started in the right place. Found myself confused by the historical relationship between the 2 leads.

I thought this was a cute story that tied in elements of real issues women face in the workplace/world. We meet Maeve and Finn, who had been close friends since college but recently weren’t on speaking terms. They got a big contract for their podcast – which was Maeve’s dream but she couldn’t stand to be in the room with Finn any longer. As they try to find ways to make things work, we learn more about their history and how they got to where they are. The book is told from both POVs and has occasional flashbacks to the past. I like that the book addressed issues such as anxiety and gender pay gap issues. The pacing of the book was good but there were points where both characters irritated me because they kept having miscommunications despite their ability to give others great advice. I was able to overlook some of this, but it kept happening. Overall, I enjoyed the book and was rooting for Maeve (and Finn). Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the eARC.

Popular podcast between friends who maybe want to be more than friends. A miscommunication lead to him getting back together with his ex and left a lot of awkwardness and hurt feelings. I enjoyed the plot.

Miscommunication abounds. I wish that we would have seen more of a story arc for the characters growth.

I did enjoy the idea of the plot and it's fun to see more modern jobs like podcast.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for an arc. All opinions expressed are my own.

This book wasn't for me! I thought there was way too much miscommunication between the two main characters in this story. It took me from enjoying it and left me frustrated most of the time.

I think the idea of this book is really fun and interesting, but unfortunately it just didn’t work for me. I also feel like it felt a bit out of touch as a whole. A lot of the things I read made me annoyed than anything else.

I really did enjoy the light that was shone on the sexism / gender bias that is in may workplace and that a lot what you see in the news and on your tiktok scroll / podcasts are fake hate / love. I think so many people in today’s cultures base their opinions on what influencers and podcasters say and I truly believe alot of what we hear and see is just for the numbers like we saw in this book.

Our MCs didn’t feel like they had any growth for me. They began the novel acting very immature and childish (they’re in their 30s) and ended the book the same way IMO. they bickered like teenagers and they gave a lot of really good advice to their viewers and i feel like they followed none of it and then came off as childish hypocrites the entire time.

While i didn’t “hate” this book because that’s a super strong word. I didn’t really love it either. It wasn’t good or bad for me and because of that i don’t think it’ll stick with me.

I really love a book that showcases anxiety because i feel as though it makes me as well as so many others feel seen. I loved that addition to this book and almost wish we got more of it - on page therapy, more showing of support from the MMC, etc.

With all that, I did find the writing style to be bingable and easy to read and I would consider giving this author another try in the future.

You’ll find:
-Miscommunication
-Anxiety Representation
-Discusses Gender Equality
-Podcasters
-Enemies to Lovers
-Second Chance Romance
-Slow Burn

*3.5 stars*

Tell Me How You Really Feel by Betty Cayouette is a standalone romance and was a cute story overall.

While I wasn’t too fond of the style and the amount of complaining vs action being taken, it had a solid story there and had space to build up from.

I liked the idea of the forced proximity to the person Maeve hated the most while all he wanted to do was apologize and make up for his actions. This is one of the things that dragged on a bit much and maybe if the beginning developed them a bit more before diving into the problem, it may have flowed a bit easier. IDK…

I loved the idea of the sex and relationship podcast as well as Maeve being a psychologist all while accidentally falling into success. Between the enemies to lovers trope and second chance romance, there’s something for many readers to enjoy. It was also nice to see and point out the double standards for men and women as well as everything being due to misunderstandings and lack of communication.

If you’re looking for a quick and fun dive into a quirky romance, this is for you!

*This was an honest review for a complimentary copy of Tell Me How You Really Feel from Betty Cayouette via NetGalley

I loved Betty Cayouette’s debut and this one is just as amazing!!!! the story is unique in the subgenre’s of ex-friends to lovers, podcasters, and forced proximity!

I loved the characters here, especially that we get dual pov, to see how they each react to their past and current situations, professionally and personally. there’s so much love and tenderness in this story, I especially love how dedicated Finn is to Maeve, truly trying his best to give her what she wants even as she’s pulling away from him.

the miscommunication between the two is the main conflict here and that got a little tedious at times because it kept being the barrier when it didn’t always need to be.

overall though I thoroughly enjoyed this story!!! thank you for the arc :)

After reading the synopsis, I knew this book had the potential of winning me over big time. Reading it however, was a completely different experience. I have big issues with people in their 30s behaving like unsupervised teens. And don't even get me started on their chemistry and dialogues. How many times can the miscommunication trope be used in the same novel. I actually lost count of how many times I actually rolled my eyes.

This was such a sweet story! I loved how feminist the book was and how feminist the characters were. Not to mention that I would die to have a Finn of my own! Quick and wonderful reading, I didn’t want to put this down. Not even for craft projects! Loved the storytelling that felt fresh and engaging. It kept me sucked into the plot and seeing what came next. Great story, will happily read more from this author.!

I love a good second chance romance, this was so much fun! Podcasts/radio shows feel like a really trendy topic for this year, but I really enjoyed this one. The unique relationship between Meave and Finn really helped this book to shine. I loved the banter in this so much, it had me kicking my feet! I definitely need to read more from Betty Cayouette because this was so much fun, and had so much heart!

Tell Me How You Really Feel has a lot going for it—a juicy premise, podcast fame, a complicated exes-to-lovers dynamic, and a modern look at love and ambition. Maeve and Finn’s relationship has real potential, and the alternating timelines between past and present give the story an interesting rhythm.

That said, while the setup is compelling, the emotional payoff didn’t quite land for me. The chemistry between Maeve and Finn sometimes felt more told than shown, and the constant back-and-forth—both in time and tone—left the pacing uneven. Their podcast success was a fun hook, but I found myself wanting more depth in how that success impacted their personal growth.

Still, the banter and behind-the-scenes podcast world were entertaining, and fans of second-chance romance may find enough here to enjoy. A solid read, but I hoped for a little more spark and cohesion.

Tell Me How You Really Feel by Betty Cayouette
Pub Date: 5/7/25
Format: ebook/audio hybrid
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Are you a fan of friends to lovers romance??? How about podcast-centric books? If so - this book just might be for you!

Finn & Maeve are cohosts of a mega popular podcast called Tell Me How You Really Feel where they discuss their past relationships, sex, and all sorts of fun relationship topics. Maeve is a therapist and Finn is a celebrity/nepo baby and their dynamic has created a heck of a fan base and a huge deal with Streamify to elevate their podcast game!

The only problem? They suck at actually telling each other how they *really* feel.

I thought this book was cute, but the characters were a bit tone deaf and grating to me at times. I also feel like we didn’t get a whole lot of their chemistry on page to where I had a hard time getting invested. Throw in an iffy third act conflict, and I just don’t think this book reached its full potential.

The audiobook is narrated by Brittany Pressley which is always a plus, so I would still say it was an enjoyable enough read. Just not top of my recommendation list!

Thank you to Netgalley & Macmillan for the advanced ebook in exchange for my honest review!

Tell Me How You Really Feel by Betty Cayouette is a slow burn second chance romance with a dual timeline and dual POV. This book had a lot of potential, but it just didn't live up to it, and that's how I really feel.

The book follows Maeve and Finn who are trying to navigate Finn's truly incredible f-up after signing a multi-million dollar deal with a Spotify-like streaming service for their Call Her Daddy-like podcast. For context, the f-up was that Finn calls Maeve while they are "on a break" to ask her for permission to date "the one that got away." Then in the middle of the book it is revealed that <spoiler> he is getting paid more for the podcast she created and edits while he is comic relief.</spoiler> While he does apologize and seems sincere in both instances, I think that his f-ups are too big to be looked past so I didn't like him.

I think we started where the third act should have been and then the entire second conflict of the book should not have existed. I would have been less likely to absolutely hate Finn if we weren't fed how he's just a chill guy who doesn't realize when he messes up. Another thing that was weird was that I think it just regurgitates therapy concepts but neither of the main characters use any of it. On the bright side I thought that that the family scenes for both of them were sweet. I also enjoyed their friendship when they were just being people not falling in love. Sadly, I don't know who I would recommend this book to.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin, and Betty Cayouette for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

A contemporary read dealing with topics of equality, social media and anxiety and a streaming show about sex. While there is a solid attempt to put the romance as the focus, it actually revolves around the three topics. This second chance romance goes back and forth so many times making it feel like the romance of the story is somewhat lost. The plot is slow moving and a repetition of equality in different ways. It overpowers the romance of the book. The book is easy to read and the streaming topic is funny and entertaining at certain parts. However, the book had more of a serious focus than a relaxing one.

Maeve and Finn are podcasters and have just received the deal of a lifetime the problem is they can barely stand other. Maeve really wants this deal to workout she just has to figure out a way to keep Finn from sabotaging the whole deal. Fun read that jumps into flashbacks to when the podcast started and what is happening now. Follow the two and see if they can go back to a time when they cared about each other or will the hate they feel now ruin everything?