Thank you St. Martin's press for the arc.

I did not finish this book. It sounded so interesting but I lost interest very quickly and became annoyed instead.

Maeve was/wants to be a counselor but she's mad at one of her closest friends because he dated someone else and she had a crush on him and now he has to apologize and be forever sorry because he dated someone other than her?..........are we in middle school?

And I'm sorry but I'm over the whole, "woe is me, my life is hard and blah blah blah because I'm a woman" trope. I just can't do it anymore.

I saw this on goodreads thought it looked interesting. It's a cute read and a bit of comic relief. I really liked the character development and how the story flowed flawlessly.

I really liked the premise of this book and I was excited to read it, but unfortunately the pacing kept taking me out of the story. As the reader you’re dropped into the story where events have already taken place and then are supposed to understand the fallout of an event that happened before the story began. Without the event ever being discussed or stated beyond allusion. I found myself incredibly frustrated with this, as well as, the dual timelines. It might be for some, but it ultimately was not for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my review.

This was such an entertaining & insightful novel on a wealth of important topics. Overall, I loved the characters and their journey to HEA. What really spoke to me though were the big topics covered in the book - therapy, sex education & pay equality. The story was a good vehicle for discussing these important themes in a relevant manner. So thankful for NetGalley in letting me ready an early ARC of this one. Warnings - there is a LOT of sex talk & a few somewhat graphic sex scenes in case that's not your thing.

Maeve and Finn were initially two friends who started a sex and relationship podcast that goes viral. The story is told with dial POV and dual timeline which fills in the pieces of why the two friends are now struggling to work in close proximity. I loved the podcast, in fact wish this were a real podcast because I would definitely listen to it! I really enjoyed the humor and the inclusion of some feminist energy. I found Maeve to be rather intolerable by the end. I initially liked her as the FMC, but by the end I felt she handled the whole “miscommunication” rather immaturely. ESPECIALLY given the fact that she was a therapist! I loved how the forced proximity created so much tension between the two.

Tell Me How You Really Feel immediately drew me in with the witty banter between the two main characters. Maeve and Finn were initially two friends who started a sex and relationship podcast that goes viral. The story is told with dualPOV and dual timeline which fills in the pieces of why the two friends are now struggling to work in close proximity and have become enemies . I loved the podcast, in fact wish this were a real podcast because I would definitely listen to it! I really enjoyed the humor and the inclusion of some feminist energy. I found Maeve to be rather intolerable by the end. I initially liked her as the FMC, but by the end I felt she handled the whole “miscommunication” rather immaturely. ESPECIALLY given the fact that she was a therapist! I loved how the forced proximity created so much tension between the two. Overall, I enjoyed the podcast element, humor and some of my favorite tropes in this one.

If you enjoy podcats with a side of romance, this may be the book for you. I really enjoyed this one and I appreciate the opportunity to read it early. Thank you very much!

I think it was perfectly fine. It scratched a certain itch I normally only find in fanfiction, and yet I can't help but I just felt odd after reading it,

Tell Me How You Really Feel starts off relatively strong. Every now and then, I get a craving for Notting Hill/Celebrity AU fanfic-style stories, and this seemed like it would be perfect to satisfy that, For a while, it did. The main character was a GirlbossTM, and for better or worse, comes with all the trappings of that. I can put it aside because there is some nuance, some tension that is simmering beyond the obvious attraction happening/happened between the fmc and mmc. A power and privilege imbalance that actually does drive the story forward. The fmc wants to eventually branch out and do her own show, but the studio executives seem to be offering that to her male cohost and not interested in that from her at all. Why? Because he is a man, maybe, or because his parents are somewhat of legends in the entertainment industry, or possibly both.
On top of their career struggles, the two of them seem to be at odds. Why? Miscommunication over mutual attraction. The fmc and mmc hooked up before the start of the book, after years of will-they-won't-they type behaviour, and it apparently ended in disaster. I love a second chance romance, I do, but this was not it. I was furious at both of them. I was furious that the fmc was so pissy, but she was blatantly cold and chilly after them hooking up, brushing aside any conversations that should have been had, then spent the entirety of the book acting like an actual child, pretending like she wasn't going to eventually forgive him. That what he did was so unforgivable, but she literally was giving so many off-putting signals, and then when given the chance to clarify her intentions, gets hurt that he had ask and when he decides to actually try having a relationship with someone open about what they want from him. If the genders were switched, the audience would 100% be siding with the mmc in the situation. Except, he was kind of awful too. It was all very Ross-Rachel "we-were-on-a-break" coded. Like, I don't blame him for going for the clear signals, but I could never imagine feeling so in love with someone, then asking for clarification in the worst, most hurtful way possible- by asking to go out with someone else. I think the intention was good, but the execution was awful
Now, not to belittle the fmc. I wouldn't have put up with his shit either, but I think the constant haranguing about how he could never possibly like her, that she wasn't beautiful or talented enough...I'm sorry, I just think that if you're that insecure, it's not the other persons fault. It's your own. Like he very obviously is in love with her, so clearly trying to show that he erred, and instead of just giving him a clear path, regardless if it was a path out the door or a path back into her heart, she continued to give up mixed messages.
One thing I did really appreciate in the book was the third act tension which comes in the form of some good old fashioned situational blindness. Spoilers, it's revealed that the mmc is making more money than cohost, the fmc. The reasoning for this? It did not occur to him to think that they would be getting paid differently. It seems innocuous enough. You could argue that it makes him a decent person, for thinking that of course a woman should be making the same! It's not even a question! Except, as the book illustrates, by not acknowledging the reality of the world, you let gross inequalities happen. It's not just enough for women to be vigilant about their equality, but also for men to be taking an equal part in that conversation. He should have communicated better with his agent, with their studio, it should have been written in the contract. It was a major failing on his part, and it's actually framed as that. The mmc has to learn that too, that it's not just enough to think he's a good guy for believing in equality, but to make sure he's actually participating in making it that way.
Despite the final messaging being a real win in my eyes, I still finished the book feeling little sour on it. The way that these characters were supposedly so in love, such good friends, cared about each other such an inordinate amount, they both chose to hurt themselves and hurt each other at every single roadbump. If they were real people, I don't think they would make it in the long term, and quite frankly, I don't think their drama was quite fun enough to justify the drag of the middle bit.
Also, I think the transitions between the current timeline and the past anecdotes felt a little choppy to me. I feel like they were mostly thrown in as a "reveal" what happened between the characters, and I think it could have worked, but it mostly just made whatever momentum the story built just ground to a halt.

Thank you to Netgalley and St Martins for this ARC.

Loved this friends to lovers/second chance book about two best friends turned viral podcast hosts. Both characters are flawed and yet I rooted for them despite their mistakes and insecurities. There were times in this book I wanted to shake them, but ultimately the story kept me engaged and I read it straight through in a day.

there was so much explanation within the two chapters i read that i gave up. unlike some people, i do have reading comprehension skills. i don’t need things to be spelled out for me. and i certainly do not need things to be spelled out to me in every other paragraph!!

hanks so much to netgalley and st martin's press for this ARC!

second chance romance, about two best friends who have started a podcast together, and have to continue to do their podcast together despite their past and the way that they have hurt each other.

i really really really enjoyed this book. i gave it four stars rather than five purely because i wasn't a huge fan of the third act breakup, i think that the reasoning behind it made sense, but that after so much back and forth with maeve and finn it was unnecessary. i enjoyed the talk about feminism and being a woman, i liked the way the author spoke about anxiety and therapy, but most of all i just loved maeve and finn's friendship. i like that they had been in love this entire time, and yet neither of them fully realized how deep that love ran. the intimacy of their relationship (platonic and romantic) was beautifully done. you could feel the way that they knew each other, the way that they were so comfortable with each other, the way they were both so heartbroken.

Two podcasters dream comes true and they are given a blockbuster deal for their podcast "Tell Me How You Really Feel". Maeve and Finn have history together and they find it hard to get along and sometimes even be in the same room together. Maeve doesn't want to let her dreams die so she tries to keep the podcast deal going while trying to stick handle FInn.

I really liked the idea of this story. I wish I could actually listen to their podcast cause it sounds amazing! There were moments in this that I absolutely loved and other times that I wanted to throw my kindle across the room just because the to main characters where making me so mad! I'd think that Maeve and Fin would finally get their lives together and be together, but then something else would happen! It was frustrating! But overall, it was a cute story! Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for my digital ARC!

Maeve and Finn get the chance of a lifetime: a multimillion dollar contract to produce their viral podcast called Tell Me How You Really Feel. The only problem is, they’ve recently had a huge falling out and Maeve can barely stand to be in the same room as Finn. They went from best friends to "hating" each other practically overnight. The network refuses to compromise on their deal, so they must find a way to work together and salvage their relationship in order to get paid.

Tell Me How You Really Feel started out really strong for me. I loved the first half and thought it was going to be an easy five star book. Around the halfway point, the pace started to slow down and I realized that the enormous conflict between the two main characters seemed to actually be more of a giant miscommunication that could have probably been solved with more communication. Overall, this bumped the book down to four stars for me because I loved the characters individually and some of the dynamics between them (plus the dual POV!), but their actual relationship became so frustrating as the book went on.

4 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

This story has a fun premise and great plot. I enjoyed both of the main characters for the most part, as well as the storytelling style switching POVs and using flashbacks. There is also some genuinely good advice, such as how to apologize correctly, woven into the narrative.

This wasn't quite a five-star read for me because the messaging was a little too heavy-handed at times, and some aspects of the story were too weird for me (e.g., Finn has his mom on the podcast to talk about the details of her sex life with his dad). I also got frustrated with how badly the characters communicated at times, given that they host a podcast on how to have healthy relationships - but I know that's how real life goes, and it provides good opportunities for character growth!

I enjoyed this story, and I know it's going to be a big hit. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the free eARC. I post this review with my honest opinions. It will be posted on Amazon upon the book's publication.

"Teaching men emotional intelligence so their partners don't have to" 👏🏼 This was a fresh and fun. Set in the world of podcasting I found myself wishing their podcast was real because I would definitely listen. I was here for all of the gender gap representation and mental health awareness.
My only note is that this books feels younger and fresher than its cover, the international cover is much better suited to the storyline.

I absolutely adored this story! The best friends to lovers with shared history was done to perfection, I really felt their sexual tension and connection. The modern podcast with a nepo baby was a fun and unique premise. Her anxiety was portrayed in such a believable way that added layers to the story, instead of being over the top, which is hard to pull off.

Thank you to St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest, unbiased review.

That cover though! I adored this book. The story is fun and flirty and captured my attention from the first few pages. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

This was a strong romance novel, it had that feel that I was looking for and enjoyed the feel of this. I enjoyed the use of the podcast, and how it was used in this type of book. The characters were everything that I wanted and felt like real people, I enjoyed the way the romance grew in a realistic way and was glad I was able to read this. Betty Cayouette has a strong writing style and am excited for more.

In just 2 books, Betty Cayouette is becoming a go-to author for second-chance romance. Her books are full of longing and tenderness - it is almost hard to read for all the emotion and tension. You can feel their hurt. You can see their love. The desire to grab the characters and shake some sense into them because they so clearly belong together is strong. It’s exhausting to care that much and yet here we are.

Betty makes a lot of really smart choices here. The dual point of view is smartly-employed here. Maeve is realistic and relatable, with her talent and drive at constant war with her insecurities and anxiety. She is very smart but not always able to take her own advice. And we learn that Finn is not as spoiled, egotistical and entitled as Maeve wants to believe. Plus his devotion to Maeve is so lovely. In addition, the podcasting setting is timely and fresh. It’s a great device to force proximity on the characters when they are not speaking to each other. The look behind the scenes at making a podcast, and the gender and pay disparity of the industry are background stories that enrich without feeling like filler content.

This book is not as light and easy as the cover and the title suggest. The pacing is slower and more deliberate. And while it has fun banter, it tackles deeper, more serious issues underneath the romance. And that makes the journey to a happy ending even more rewarding. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Betty Cayouette, and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review of this novel [set for release on May 6th of 2025].