4,25/5

HONESTLY!!! I was really worried that I wasn't going to like this book as much as I did.

Following a new contract with Streamify, Meave and Finn's podcast TELL ME HOW YOU REALLY FEEL, sky rockets in popularity even more than it already has. Meave worries about wanting the show to feel as authentic as it always has while competeing against the most popular "bro" podcast that as also joined the company. If that wasn't enough, she is trying to work through the tension, anger and love that she feels towards her cast mate. Can these two make it back to how they were, or will the continue to skirt around their feelings?

I love a book that is told in a now and then format. I love seeing how friends become lovers to strangers and back to lovers. A full circle moment is always so so satisfying to me. Comparing just how CLOSE these two were before their blow up makes the after math hurt even more. Finn and Meave also come from such different backgrounds, especially with Meave's crippling anxiety, it makes sense how certain events can change her view now only on the world, but Finn himself. As someone who deals with anxiety so similarly to Meave, this was almost a hard read. Because I wanted to shake her and tell her just to MOVE on as if I don't do the same exact thing that she does.

As a reader, sometimes when I read a book that comes off a little TOO contemporary, it takes me out of the reading experience. IE use of modern day slang, trends and even the mention of apps (idk why mentioning TikTok in a book makes me feel weird, but it does). BUT! Betty Cayouette does a phenomenal job doing at not making social media feel too cringy. I loved the female empowerment that this book is about. There is such important conversations about the Pink Tax and glass ceilings and the constant struggle that women have to be ON while guys can simply say or do what they want while being praised for doing bare basics.

This book was such a good read and I really encourage everyone to pick it up!!

Thank you so much to Netgalley, Betty Cayouette and St. Martin's Press for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.