This book was not it for me. The second chance romance of it all was a little thin as they were together less than 2 months before the start of the book and then the MMC dumps the FMC for a childhood girlfriend but it doesn’t last and he wants the FMC back. The FMC is having none of it. It was over 300 pages of the main characters acting like teenagers instead of 30 something adults. I don’t think I’ll be reading any more by this author unless I hear some amazing things.

I was super excited to read this based on the premise but it fell flat for me.

I think utilizing both a dual POV AND a dual timeline did the story a disservice. It made the narrative clunky and confusing.

I also had no connection to the romance because I didn't really like Maeve or Finn. Finn made so many dumb mistakes and his excuse was always "meh, I didn't know, sorry." I did like that his family called him on his crap but he definitely should have known better.

The one thing I do feel the book does well was touching on important topics like anxiety and mental health. It also shines a spotlight on sexism and pay inequality in the entertainment industry.

The title of this story is Tell Me How You Really Feel. You wanna know how I felt about reading this? It felt like I was reading about two adults acting like immature teenagers for 336 pages. I'm honestly going to keep this review short and sweet because there's not really much to say about this ARC in particular.

Maeve just signed a giant podcast contract with Streamify. She should be over the moon, but the contract stipulates that she has to work with her ex-best friend and former fling, Finn. As they're forced to work together, they start to realize that maybe the feelings they had for each other never left. The story jumps back and forth between the past and the present, discussing the creation of the Tell Me How You Really Feel podcast and how they became big, as well as a dual-POV with Maeve and Finn.

The ONLY redeeming quality I would say this book had is that it brought up a lot of good points and commentary about sexism and the pay gap between men and women in the entertainment industry. We see this unravel with the way Finn constantly received more attention than Maeve because of his good looks and superstar celebrity parents, whereas Maeve grew up poor and her family struggled to make ends meet. I also liked the dual timeline and how it goes into depth about the behind-the-scenes of what goes into making a podcast and the amount of time and effort it takes to build a set and set up the contracts.

As for the bad...where do I even begin? For two thirty-somethings, Maeve and Finn were behaving like petty teenagers for the VAST majority of the story. It was infuriating to read. Maeve would act impulsively and never hear Finn's side of the story, but Finn also wasn't a saint in the way he acted throughout either. For two people who run a raunchy, sex-positive, relationship and life advice podcast, they never took their own advice throughout the 336 pages of this book. It was wildly hypocritical of them to give people amazing advice on how to handle rough patches in their relationships, yet off-screen it seemed as if they had this, "Do as I say, not as I do" attitude. Like, Maeve would say she would be okay with Finn doing this one thing, and when he goes off and does said thing, she would throw a hissy fit and be all, "Well I didn't think you would ACTUALLY do it!" I wanted to rip my hair out. Don't get me wrong, I love a good second-chance romance and the "will they or won't they" dynamic throughout second-chance romance books, but they honestly should've just made separate podcasts for each of them and called it a day.

Overall, I would NOT recommend this book to anyone, unless you're fine with watching 2 grown adults bicker like pre-pubescent teenagers. Maeve and Finn needed to do a lot of growing up before they could even consider a romance. I genuinely think that they broke up after the story ended, and instead of leaving me giggling and kicking my feet, they made me want to smack some sense into both of them. I thought this would be a cute second-chance romance, but I was left wholly disappointed in the way things unraveled.

Tell Me How You Really Feel by Betty Cayouette delves into the complexities of workplace romance and candidly addresses the gender pay gap, making it a valuable read. The novel offers a perfect blend of sweetness that makes the eventual happy ending well worth the wait. It is not just a love story, but also a profound exploration of personal and societal challenges.

I was so excited to see Betty wrote another book (and so soon after her debut)! I right away loved the premise of a romance between two podcasters and it felt so relevant for 2025, yet isn’t something I’d seen as a storyline for a romance before.

Maeve and Finn were both like able characters and I enjoyed both POVs and the dual timelines. Betty’s contemporary romance pov is so unique on celebrities, fashion, and stylists from her past work experience, and I particularly enjoyed all the information on those topics she weaved within the story.

While I really enjoyed the story, some of it felt very repetitive, and while I get that they were working through some trauma and serious hurt feelings, I personally felt less invested hearing some of their feelings repeated again and again.

Overall this one was endearing and a lot of fun and I’ll definitely continue to read what Betty writes!! Thanks for the arc st martins press!

This book sounded amazing, but it kind of fell flat. I found Finn to be incredibly annoying and flat. Maeve was likable enough, but couldn’t save the book. I appreciate some of the story arcs that were included, but everything just felt slightly off to me.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!
This was a fun and cute read. I liked the podcast aspect and highlighting the gender wage gap. I wanted them to both communicate with the other so much better. That grew tiring. But overall a sweet read!

Publish to Goodreads on 5/4/25

This is an ARC review thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press.

This is my first book by this author. I was really excited to be approved for this arc. This book is an easy read, very predictable. Idk why, but I knew the twist was coming. It was a cute story. Perfect beach read.

I think I would have liked this book a lot more if it were lit fic and not a romance. I don’t think the FMC and MMC make a good couple, and by the end I found myself really aggressively disliking the MMC. Plus, effectively the whole book was a third act breakup due to miscommunication — which is my least favorite part of any romance novel to start. Might be great for someone else, but this wasn’t for me.

2.5 stars

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love Betty Cayouette's novels and so excited to see her follow up to Just One Shot (which had the two for one of an awesome European vacation and a romantic comedy which had a really thoughtful and sensitive portrayal of the impact of sexual assault.)

This one really missed the mark with me, and it was really down to the main male character. I loved the setting that Cayouette chose (two best friends who started their own podcast together, frankly discussing sex and relationships) and I do love how she embeds feminist themes in her work - this book talks a lot about equal pay and conditions that women face in the workplace (yes, in the context of a podcast about sex), and I thought it was seamlessly woven in.

But I struggled with how self-centred I found Finn. Early in the book, we found that the two have fallen out due to some choices Finn made in regards to their relationship that made Maeve feel like his second choice. And through the book, he continues to make decisions that prioritise himself and just feel very self-centred. At one point, when he tells Maeve's sisters why he cares about her, it just doesn't come across as if he is willing to make any compromises or to push himself to grow in the relationship.

I liked Maeve, our main female character, a lot, and really appreciated how she wanted to use her fame to promote mental health and accessing therapy. I enjoyed that she thought of a sex podcast in the context of ensuring that people feel their healthiest and happiest - although I think she is totally wrong about penis microphones! Cayouette is an amazing author, and I'll be so excited to see whatever she writes next. This one isn't for me, but I'll be very excited to see her next book.

First thank you to st martins press and NetGalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis: Maeve and her college friend Finn host a successful podcast about how to find the one. It goes viral and they are sent to new heights while trying to figure out their relationship. There are many missteps along the way

What I liked: I liked that there was great talk about misogyny and equal pay in the book. There was a lot of talk about therapy and knowing your worth and standing up for yourself in it which are great stories. However the two main characters were not appealing to me. Finn was very selfish and immature. He would do stupid things and act like I don’t get it. Maeve is treated as the expert since she is a therapist but although she talks a great game she really never followed it. She also never really thinks about her actions and how that impacted everything. I really don’t think they should be together.

Meave and Finn met in college and have been friends since, but when they both ended up moving to NYC and starting a podcast together they became closer than ever. It has not been over 2 years since they started the podcast went viral, and now they have achieved a deal with a platform to distribute their podcast that is taking them to the next level. Only Meave currently can't stand to even be in the same room as Finn without being on the verge of losing herself. Finn is determined to get back to where they were and get Maeve to forgive him.

Honestly this is the second book I have read by this author and honestly she hit it out of the park again. I could not put this down. I was obsessed with the story and the characters from page 1. They had fantastic banter, the characters felt very real and relatable, their chemistry was *chefs kiss* and the over all themes really packed a punch. This felt like lll my favourite things put together in a book and done well.

The fact that I had to wait until 50% of immaturity between 2 adults to find out why Mauve is mad at Finn? It’s diabolical, and then to continue to read more and more immaturity took me over the edge. This book is for someone but not me. You are telling me that a man is literally groveling and telling you he loves you and you still don’t believe him?? Mauve is a smart woman but she lacked so much when it comes to Finn…. As for Finn? He’s a punk lol…. I was over it….

Tell Me How You Really Feel was a sweet second chance romance of two people who almost never got their relationship off the ground.

While this story was riddled with miscommunication and hurt feelings, Maeve and Finn were able to resolve their issues to get their happy ending.

I felt that there were some storylines that went unresolved or were added in for extra drama that we didn't necessarily need. Why was the villainous podcast never addressed? I kept waiting for them to me refer back to this and then we just didn't.

I loved the mental health representation and felt like it was handled very well. I love friends to lovers and the friendship between Maeve and Finn was really beautiful. I almost wish they would've been friends for longer because their bond was fun to read about.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really fun read. I liked the dual perspective and two period approach to the story of this podcaster duo and their journey ! It was also really refreshing to have a book be so good about all manner of sex and mental health issues, not to mention the gender pay gap.

I really enjoyed the author’s style and writing, the characters came to life before me as I read. It was a real treat to read!

I loved both Finn and Maeve, I was just rooting for them all the way through. The podcast element was exciting and overall it was a great read with fantastic chemistry.

Always love reading a new author! This was my first into to Betty Cayoutte, and it was an enjoyable read.

What I liked:
• the anxiety representation- so thoughtfully written
• love the fantasy of being uber rich and famous and to be able to just do things like go to the Prada runway show
• great points brought up about the pay gap, female pleasure, money insecurity, and more. a very intelligent romcom.

What I didn’t like:
• I didn’t need the rivalry with the other podcast, but I understand the point of a Joe Rogan esque villain
• I wasn’t totally sold on Finn and Maeve’s romance - it was a really great friendship, but did I NEED them to end up together? Not really, especially given how poorly Maeve treats Finn for a good portion of the book
• I would’ve preferred a more realistic portrayal of Podcast Host fame. The idea that a two year old podcast would have THE highest paid hosts in all of podcast history, even if one of them is the son of Hollywood royalty? I don’t think so.

Overall, a nice read! The points I didn’t like did not hinder my enjoyment of the book, but would prevent me from rating above 3 stars

Thank you St. Martins Press, NetGalley and the author for an ARC.

I really wanted to love this novel because who doesn’t love a friend to lovers, and podcast romance?! However this was a DNF for me due to the complete toxicity of the main characters and their relationship. I get complex relationships and miscommunication however this one just didn’t click for me.

I found this story incredibly interesting! I thought the flashbacks were a good way of adding context to Maeve and Finn's relationship and how things have shifted. I liked where they were placed - it felt like there was a good amount of thought for how they were added into the book. While I have some mixed feelings about Finn (he gets called out once or twice, and I maybe wanted to smack him upside the head here and there), I thought the book made a good point about how those not in positions of power are not afforded the same benefits and luxuries as those who are born into that world. However, I also think Maeve (well, both of them) could have communicated a bit better (I still mostly blame Finn though, just to be clear).

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/St. Martin's Griffin for the ARC!

TELL ME HOW YOU REALLY FEEL – Betty Cayouette
St. Martin’s Griffin
ISBN: 978-1250291127
May 6, 2025
Contemporary Romance

Los Angeles – Present Day

Podcasters Maeve and Finn have a history together, both romantically and as podcasters. Unfortunately, a painful breakup tore them apart, but a mega deal with a streaming company forced them to put the past behind them to work together. Or is the past really behind them? Will working together be painful or will they fall in love again? Can there ever be a happily ever after between them?

TELL ME HOW YOU REALLY FEEL is the name of Maeve’s and Finn’s popular podcast. This tale is told in flashbacks and the present day as they work and promote their show. The duo started working together while in college and they fell in love. Maeve comes from Pennsylvania and a middle-class family. Finn is the only child of a powerful Hollywood family who wishes that he would follow them into the film industry. Despite their differing backgrounds, Finn and Maeve are connected and can talk about just anything together. This led them to host a podcast, but it all ended after he had a fling with a female friend from his childhood. He thought he would give the new relationship a try after Maeve ended things, but he soon realized that he was chasing the wrong thing. He regrets hurting Maeve.

Maeve can’t quite forgive Finn for cheating on her in TELL ME HOW YOU REALLY FEEL. Despite it all, there are still feelings between them, though she tries to ignore him, and he tries to respect her wishes. But spending time together and chatting about dating and other things on their podcast rekindles those old feelings. If Maeve breaks her vow and forgives Finn, will he do something to break her heart…again? That is the dilemma she faces. Meanwhile, they are trying to beat a rah-rah obnoxious rival and become the number-one podcast in the country. Will they succeed?

TELL ME HOW YOU REALLY FEEL is told from both Maeve's and Finn’s points of view, plus flashes back to their early years together when they started out and first fell in love. Their relationship is raucous and emotional because deep down, they still care for each other. Will they succeed in becoming number one in the hearts of listeners and each other? Find out the answer by grabbing a copy of TELL ME HOW YOU REALLY FEEL.

Patti Fischer
Romance Reviews Today