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].

Tell Me How You Really Feel is a fun romcom for any avid podcast listener! While in many ways a traditional romcom, Cayouette also addresses mental health, in particular anxiety and panic attacks, with directness and care that can be appreciated by anyone who has personally experienced those feelings she writes about, as well as anyone who is looking to understand them. However, I felt the characters and their circular arguments often detracted from the story rather than making me care for them and root for their relationship.

I loved the premise of this book alot, I felt that there was minimal chemistry between the two MCs, but it somehow worked out in the end. the first half I absolutely blazed through, the second half dragged for me

loved this romance about friends who become more. He is from a famous family and she isn't famous. She creates a podcast and becomes famous. They have guests and try to figure their relationship out. I loved that he saw her and supported her.

I feel so bad giving this one a low rating after I loved the first book by this author, but I wasn’t a fan of this one.

In this novel we follow Maeve and Finn. I didn’t feel the chemistry between the two. It made me uncomfortable when they were going on dates with other people and talking about them on the podcast and making fun of their dates. They also got breakfast together every time they had one night stands with other people…it was just weird.

I liked the concept and thought it would be like “The Ex-Talk” but this was very descriptive and not too appealing.

The flashbacks didn’t work for me. I almost wanted a before and then after section if that makes sense. I felt like we were thrown right into the conflict and it didn’t work.

Although I didn’t like this one, I do recommend this author and I will be reading her future work.

*An ARC was received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

"To me, you are my whole world. You sometimes act like you're a supporting character that got pulled up to the main spot. But that's not true. You're the sun and I'm just happy to be in your orbit."

~Best friends to lovers
~Second chance romance
~Dual timelines
~Mental health rep

I realllllly loved the first half of the book; the first half was definitely a 4+ star. As a social worker, I personally loved the idea of the podcast, which is saying something because I'm not a big podcast girlie. But the second half really dragged on. I don't usually mind a miscommunication trope, but this had multiple miscommunications through out and I just didn't feel the last one as truly needed; (without given spoilers) I thought the point the author was trying to make but I don't think it needed to result in a massive break up. I'm not sure if this was only an issue because it was an ARC copy, but the text threads didn't show properly and had a little confused at times. Overall, I thought it had some impactful components and addressed topics that we see every day, but it was a little too long for my liking.

This book is a banter-filled journey about a pair of best friends turned enemies who co-host a podcast together. Maeve and Finn have a connection that is undeniable, even when they’re butting heads. I found myself rooting for them despite their flaws and miscommunications. Maeve’s journey, in particular, was captivating; I was thoroughly invested in her growth by the end.
The story doesn’t shy away from tackling real, relevant issues, adding depth to the romance. While I was frustrated at times with both Maeve and Finn—Maeve for her reluctance to communicate and Finn for the Cassidy relationship subplot—their journey to better understanding each other felt genuine. By the end, it was rewarding to see them finally open up and communicate honestly about their feelings.
Overall, Tell Me How You Really Feel is an enjoyable read with engaging characters, humor, and heart. Fans of slow-burn romance and friends-to-enemies-to-lovers dynamics will love it.

I received an ARC of Tell Me How You Really Feel in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this delightful romance.

Thank you NetGalley and St Martin's Press for allowing me access to this ebook in exchange of my honest review.
Tell Me How You Really Feel by Betty Cayouette is a contemporary romance to be released on May 6th 2025.
Maeve and Finn, co-hosts of a hit relationships podcast, land a major deal but struggle to work together due to their rocky history. While Maeve focuses on keeping things professional, Finn is determined to win her over again. Through flashbacks and present-day challenges, they juggle fame, podcasting success, and the complexities of their relationship. I didn't like this one unfortunately as much as I thought I would. The writing needs more editing in my opinion, also the conflict is non existent, the mmc has been with one girl in the past but was still in love with the fmc, that's not enough to create a conflict.

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I have been seeing more books with podcasters as the main characters, and I really liked how this one was done. It is a fun read!