Name: clau☁️'s review of Tell Me How You Really Feel by Aminah Mae Safi
Item: Tell Me How You Really Feel
Rating: 3
Author: clau☁️

Aminah Mae Safi

Aminah Mae Safi's Tell Me How You Really Feel is an ode to romantic comedies, following two girls on opposite sides of the social scale as they work together to make a movie and try very hard not to fall in love. The first time Sana Khan asked out a girl–Rachel Recht--it went so badly that she never did it again. Rachel is a film buff and aspiring director, and she’s seen Carrie enough times to learn you can never trust cheerleaders (and beautiful people). Rachel was furious that Sana tried to prank her by asking her on a date. But when it comes time for Rachel to cast her senior project, she realizes that there’s no more perfect lead than Sana--the girl she's sneered at in the halls for the past three years. And poor Sana--she says yes. She never did really get over that first crush, even if Rachel can barely stand to be in the same room as her. Told in alternative viewpoints and set against the backdrop of Los Angeles in the springtime, when the rainy season rolls in and the Santa Ana's can still blow--these two girls are about to learn that in the city of dreams, anything is possible--even love.

Tell Me How You Really Feel

alexandra

Sana Khan is a cheerleader and a straight A student. She's the classic (somewhat obnoxious) overachiever determined to win. Rachel Recht is a wannabe director who's obsesssed with movies and ready to make her own masterpiece. As she's casting her senior film project, she knows she's found the perfect lead - Sana. There's only one problem. Rachel hates Sana. Rachel was the first girl Sana ever asked out, but Rachel thought it was a cruel prank and has detested Sana ever since. Told in alternative viewpoints and inspired by classic romantic comedies, this engaging and edgy YA novel follows two strongwilled young women falling for each other despite themselves.

clau☁️

So I tried to love it but I sadly couldn’t. It was not a bad book, it was just... missing something.
I started it thinking it would be a one-day fluffy read, but soon in I realized it was taking me way longer than I had thought. This doesn’t necessarily bother me, but when it is because I can’t click with the writing it becomes harder to pick back up. I did tho, because I did like the main characters. I do have to say that my favorite character was the guy (Sana’s friend, don’t mind me not remembering his name lol) and I felt like I needed way more of his story.
I also thought I probably would have liked it better if it was narrated in first person, but it is something I’m not sure about.
I also didn’t like Sana’s family at all, except for her mom and surprisingly her dad (who I think is also missing a bit more of his story). I felt they were too hard on her and they don’t really change that. Maybe at the very end but I’m not completely satisfied with it. 

After the rant, what I loved about this book, apart from the cover which I absolutely ADORE, was the building of the main characters and their growth. I think it was very well done and despite all their flaws I liked the relationship. Tho it did felt rushed at times, mostly towards the end.
I also liked how Sana’s mom took Rachel to her work place even when she knew she broke her daughter’s heart.

I wish I could have loved it because I’m looking so hard to find a F/F romance that I can give five stars to, but as much as I wanted this one to be it, it was not.
I do not regret reading it tho I had a great time, I just feel average about it.

Chloe Garcia

I loved this book!!! I really appreciated all of the Gilmore Girls references interspersed into the novel and felt like it actually added quite a bit to the story for someone who is a GG super-fan like me. As much as I adored the enemies-to-lovers relationship in this book, I would have to say that my absolute favorite part of the book was the discussion of expectations for children of immigrants. Though slightly based off of the relationship between Lorelai and her parents on Gilmore Girls, the change in this novel where these characters were actually immigrants made a world of a difference. This was definitely something that the show lacked and the way these expectations were talked about in this story was exquisite. I related to both Sana and Rachel several times and loved all of the supporting characters as well. This was a great book and I would love to see what happened with Diesel lol

abbie j

i was So excited to read this but it just fell kinda flat for me... i didn’t care about the characters and i got really bored so it was a struggle to finish but the ending was sweet and i LOVE THE COVER SO MUCH 😔✊overall, it was okay.

Jude Moon

4/5 ✰.

“The nice thing about life, and not the movies, is that there's no curtains, no The End. You can always write your own story. You can always start over and begin again. It doesn't have to make sense or go in a straight line. It happens. You make it happen.”
― Aminah Mae Safi, Tell Me How You Really Feel


If I had read this book in the time period where I was a mess of anxiety and fear I'm completely sure I'd have sobbed my eyes out. Still, having read it at my twenties, it was highly relatable in a lot of aspects which I enjoyed a lot!

I got into this story knowing it was based on Rory and Paris from Gilmore Girls, which made me feel quite scared about the outcome, but the writing style and character building gave them a third dimension we couldn't see in the show. In that way, I could sense they had similar personality traits and etc. but the story was about Rachel and Sana, not Rory and Paris 2.0. The two main characters where complex in their own unique ways, which is the main reason I got to relate so much with both Sana and Rachel (even though Sana stuck with me more). I loved their relationship throughout the whole book and the banter-filled dialogues were so entertaining to read! Another feature I loved was how the author put very interesting and hard-hitting topics at the center of their personal narratives. For example, Sana's struggles with her identity were just identical to my own personal struggles, and it feels like it will be something that everyone will experience with any of the protagonists, no matter what you're internally fighting with.

Also, the feeling I got while reading it was very much alike the one I get when I watch Gilmore Girls, which is mainly warmth, and that gave me the tiny spark to be excited every time I picked up the book. The only reason I've given it 4/5 stars is that I wasn't at my best mental state while reading it, which unfortunately took quite a bit of emotion from my body.

All in all, I feel like having this kind of stories in YA literature nowadays is so important for teens, so that they get to see queer people like them living normal lives and being happy and free. I'm incredibly grateful for them.

Anna Cashman

this book had everything. so much representation, and fully fleshed out, fully real characters. *chefs kiss*

jess

BLOG | https://twitter.com/crowingbooks">TWITTER

I initially picked Tell Me How You Really Feel up because of the very gay cover, but the enemies to lovers and the strong-willed main characters is what drew me in. Enemies to lovers is one of my favourite tropes and Tell Me How You Really Feel does it so well.

I loved both of our main characters from the outset. Rachel is vicious, grumpy, and yeah, a bit mean sometimes but it comes from a place of deep-seated ambition and frustration with her standing in the world. Sana is the golden child who has never done anything wrong--except the book opens with her applying to a medical fellowship in India without the knowledge or permission of her family. Their literal collision ends up bringing both of them together in a way that's tense yet deeply entertaining to read about. Both Rachel and Sana are deeply flawed, incredibly ambitious, and so real. Also, they experience so much character growth throughout the book, and they learn from each other; Sana learns how to rebel a bit, and Rachel learns how to soften up.

This book really hits everything I love in enemies to lovers, honestly. We've got the mutual pining and thinking the other person could never like them, and the mix between loving someone and hating someone at the same time. We've got the ridiculous bickering that comes from a place of admiration and love for another person. It's not as vicious of an enemies-to-lovers as some fantasy novels would be, but it's still wonderful to see how these two girls go from grumpy and always sniping at each other to understanding and affection (and still sniping at each other, but Because Of Love, which is a trope I adore).

In terms of its plot, I'd say that Tell Me How You Really Feel reads like a pretty typical rom-com. Which is entirely a good thing! Because sapphic girls--especially sapphic girls of colour--don't get a whole lot of mainstream rom-coms. Some of the common rom-com tropes did annoy me, like the Good Old Miscommunication Trope between Rachel and Sana that would have been solved so easily if they'd just, you know, talked to each other. So much of the book was absolutely just Rachel and Sana being cute all around Los Angeles, though, which I didn't mind. I also loved that there was no homophobia in this book; it's just fluffy all around.

If you're looking for a fun f/f contemporary romance with two ambitious protagonists, definitely check out Tell Me How You Really Feel. 

representation | poc rep (middle eastern/south asian, latinx), f/f rep, jewish rep, muslim rep

Ella Patterson

This book really gets 3 stars solely for my love of Sana. It's been a while since I've read YA romance/contemporary so maybe that's why I felt frustrated by the conflicts and the lack of depth in this book. The conflicts that were present regarding Rachel's family were fascinating but weren't explored much at all in contrast to Sana's which I've seen variations of before numerous times. I adored Sana with her hidden depth, determination and confidence but Rachel bugged me, as the insecurities that I presume were supposed to be at the root of her anger and their miscommunication were never properly explained. It was kinda a lukewarm reading experience that had moments of sweetness but didn't really click with me overall.

This was the queer, brown Gilmore Girls remake of my dreams and I am LIVING FOR IT. This was the best kind of enemies-to-lovers story fueled by misunderstandings and insecurities rather than actual douchebaggery. Both Sana and Rachel were gorgeously fleshed out characters coming to terms with family expectations, dreams versus reality, financial pressure, and struggling to present the most honest version of yourself. 

I was once again blessed to read the second story in the last month about a Jewish character whose Judaism is actually an integral part of her identity and her story. The Passover seder literally had me wanting to shout from the rooftops because this is how you include cultural tradition and identity into story!! I really had to put the book down and just soak in that scene because it felt so god damn good. 

Honestly, I'm just kinda sitting here grinning stupidly to myself over how much I just adore this book. This was definitely one the highlights of my year and I will absolutely be coming back to this book again and again.

Dilayra Verbrugh

This book was incredibly cute! It made me smile a lot and gave me all the feels 🥰 
It was fast paced and had romcom vibes! If you like a cliche sapphic enemies to lovers read, I would highly recommend this well written, funny, heartwarming book!

Flavia Louise

Ok so this made my queer little film geek heart so incredibly happy and also I cried and hugged the book to my chest when I was done, so that's something I guess...

allie

Nagore J

Toni Turner

I have a crush on both of them and their dramatic cheesy love story came into my life at the most perfect time ever.

Diesel Cheung

Emir Andrés Ibañez

Una porrista aspirante a médica cirujana y una directora de cine que se odian a muerte y terminan enamorándose? I AM FUCKING IN. En serio, este es el romance f/f que necesitaba Y NO LO SABÍA. Es una historia ligera divertida, feminista y tierna. Además hay un drama familiar de fondo que me ENCANTO como se desarrolló. Me dejó feliz 😊

Katie

What. A. Cute. Story.

Rachel thinks Sana is annoyingly perfect. Sana thinks Rachel is super cute and also kind of stuck up. When ~circumstances~ force them to work together on a film project, they each discover that the other has layers that were previously unseen.

So it's not really enemies-to-lovers, but maybe like? Hate or strong dislike to love? Which is fun, except Rachel's reasoning for why she "hated" Sana was so out there. (view spoiler)[Rachel's mother abandoned her, and her mom was really beautiful. So now Rachel hates beautiful people. Like. What the fuck? That is so unrealistic and ridiculous. It made me really dislike Rachel for at least the first half of the book. (hide spoiler)]

The writing is fine, but nothing too crazy wonderful. It gets the job done, you know?

I loved the diversity in this book. Rachel is Mexican and Jewish, which is not a combination often seen, though of course they exist. Sana is Indian and the granddaughter of successful immigrants. Sana's family gave me STRONG Gilmore Girls vibes. There is absolutely no way that they were not inspired by the Gilmore clan. I'm not mad at it. I love Gilmore Girls :)

I love seeing diverse lesbians loving other diverse lesbians. I would definitely recommend this to someone looking for a pretty light contemporary.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy for review. All opinions are my own.

Nikki K

3.5 Stars
The dedication of this book pitches it perfectly as Rory Gilmore and Paris Geller if they fell in love. With that perspective in mind I definitely enjoyed the relationship between the two main characters, but there was nothing else super exciting about this book. Granted, I don’t read contemporary books so I’m not exactly the target audience. (but im a big lesbian so im gonna read this book)
The representation was great to read about. The two main characters are mixed-race American lesbians - love to see it !! But the writing was very average and sometimes didn’t make a lot of sense. Part of me thinks maybe I’m just a little too old for this book to really hit home. I’d recommend it to girls at the end of high school who are going through the same doubts as the characters. 
Anyway, it was a quick one-day read and I enjoyed it well enough!

Ruth Parker 

I love the cover of this book and this made me want
to pick it up. I did a little research into the book before purchasing and realised it was originally written as fan fiction for Rory and Paris in Gilmore Girls - an amazing pairing if ever there was one. Who can forget when Paris snatches a cheeky kiss from her bestie while on Spring Break?? - and I was hooked.

This book played on the enemies to lovers trope which I’m not always a big fan of but this book used it well and believably. I loved Rachel and Sana; they were both realistic and flawed but lovely and well fleshed out. The characterisation in this book was so strong and I really did love everything about this book.

Mary Graham

yerin

would have given 5 stars if not for the underwhelming ending

Dana Musser

diana

Maya

For me this book was perfection. 
The picture perfect cheerleader. The aspiring director. The absolutely adorable but surprisingly intelligent himbo (I love diesel so so so much and wished there had been a little more of him). The book gives me strong gilmore girl vibes but it is so much better than the show! Maybe because it´s gay and I love that. But definitley because it explains Sanas and Rachels motivations so well. All of the characters are so incredibly detailed and layered that you can´t help but like them. To be honest I couldn´t understand everything that was going on because I am not that familiar with the cultures described here but I still loved every single part of it! 
If you like sapphic, teenage, cute romances and/or gilmore girls you should read this book right now!

Belle Ellrich

*I WAS PROVIDED A PHYSICAL ARC FOR THE PURPOSE OF THIS BLOG TOUR. THIS DOESN'T AFFECT MY OPINION*

I'll be real, I was a bit on the fence about this book. At first, it sounded like it was just going to be another contemporary about two people who hate each other but then magically fall in love. However, this book morphed out of my expectations and crushed them.

I absolutely loved this book. The author did a fantastic job formulating the plot and developing the characters. Sana was not what I expected from a cheerleader (I have a bit of a classical judgement of them, I'll admit), and she was everything I'd hope for in a main character. Rachel, on the other hand, pushed past what I was expecting. I honestly thought she was going to be the nice, innocent one—not Sana. And boy, am I glad I was wrong.

I loved the drama, the events, everything. I was annoyed in all the right places, and I was squealing in others. For everything spoken of, I rate Tell Me How You Really Feel 5 stars. I look forward to reading from Safi in the future and can't wait to see what she comes out with next.

alexandra &
Tell Me How You Really Feel by Aminah Mae Safi

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