Tell Me How You Really Feel
- Downloads：3736
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-07-05 09:55:53
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Aminah Mae Safi
- ISBN：1250251028
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
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。
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。
Reviews
Zoe Armstrong
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WLW， cute， nothing particularly notable， wouldn’t read again？ I think？
Autumn
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I can definitely see the Gilmore Girls influence。 However， I've heard people pitch this as a "Rory and Paris" story and I don't think that's super accurate because Rachel and Sana aren't rivals competing for the same thing。 Instead， Rachel is a filmmaker and Sana is a cheerleader。 They do fit into the discovering things about each other that go against their initial perceptions aspects of Rory and Paris though。 Anyway， when I was reading I wasn't actually thinking about Gilmore Girls because thi I can definitely see the Gilmore Girls influence。 However， I've heard people pitch this as a "Rory and Paris" story and I don't think that's super accurate because Rachel and Sana aren't rivals competing for the same thing。 Instead， Rachel is a filmmaker and Sana is a cheerleader。 They do fit into the discovering things about each other that go against their initial perceptions aspects of Rory and Paris though。 Anyway， when I was reading I wasn't actually thinking about Gilmore Girls because this is 100% it's own story。 Hate-to-love romance。 Misunderstanding。 Two people thrown together。 I didn't necessarily feel the connection between Rachel and Sana。 I also think that maybe this book was trying to accomplish more than it could and was getting bogged down。 They're both trying to figure out their futures and have complicated side plots that were more interesting to me than the romance。 I also wasn't super into Rachel's film because I couldn't get a grasp of what it was really about and if she was a talented visionary。 I wasn't very invested in it。 But to be honest， I hated The Odyssey so maybe that was the problem。 。。。more
Briar
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Dana and Rachel haven't had a civil interaction since that fateful day freshman year， but all that is about to change thanks to fate， or at least a cracked camera。 If Rachel doesn't finish this film assignment， she can kiss NYU goodbye。 If Sana's family finds out she hasn't paid her deposit to Princeton， she can kiss her life goodbye。 There two couldn't be more different， but will being forced to work together show them both something they've been missing？I almost DNF because I disliked Rachel s Dana and Rachel haven't had a civil interaction since that fateful day freshman year， but all that is about to change thanks to fate， or at least a cracked camera。 If Rachel doesn't finish this film assignment， she can kiss NYU goodbye。 If Sana's family finds out she hasn't paid her deposit to Princeton， she can kiss her life goodbye。 There two couldn't be more different， but will being forced to work together show them both something they've been missing？I almost DNF because I disliked Rachel so much in the first few pages， which is why gave it four stars。 Thankfully， Sana balanced her out and by the end I was rooting for them （although I may have called Rachel an idiot under my breath multiple times。） 。。。more
Gina
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What a cute， sweet read！ I loved it so much， super quick with two great characters。 Lovely。
Elizabeth Smart
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3。5 rounded down。 Very fun！ A dynamic I always like to see and very diverse。 The writing was a little rough at points and I think some plots could have used more of a through line， but I found both characters very realistic and enjoyed seeing their journeys。
Sharon
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I love the Gilmore Girls and I started to see a resemblance in this book。 After reading this book I saw in the Authors notes she watched the Gilmore Girls so it all made sense！ I give this book a 3。5， I enjoyed some aspects but it seemed to take a long time before these women got together。 was quite a tangled path。
Carly
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Synopsis: Sana and Rachael have bad history。 Rachael will never forget how Sana asked her out as a prank， and has spent her time focusing on her film career instead of making friends。 However， when she is forced to cast Sana as her lead， the two have to learn to work together， and something more romantic has room to blossom。_________________________________Thoughts: This book was really similar to From Twinkle with Love （except except this one is enemies to lovers）。 I think it has a lot of cute Synopsis: Sana and Rachael have bad history。 Rachael will never forget how Sana asked her out as a prank， and has spent her time focusing on her film career instead of making friends。 However， when she is forced to cast Sana as her lead， the two have to learn to work together， and something more romantic has room to blossom。_________________________________Thoughts: This book was really similar to From Twinkle with Love （except except this one is enemies to lovers）。 I think it has a lot of cute moments and fun dialogue， and I really liked the development of the relationship in the middle of the book。 I found the first 10% of the book to be really rocky， especially because I just wish that Rachael had a better reason for being enemies with Sana in the first place。 Then， I really liked the development in the middle， and enjoyed how their friendship was forming。 Then， the last 25% of the book or so went downhill again for me。 That being said， I think this is a fun read with great lesbian representation， and I happened to enjoyed reading it！ 。。。more
Shane
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Unfortunately， DNF。 I knew from the start it is a young adult book so I should not put my expectations too high but occasionally， I enjoy this genre when it is focused on topics I am generally interested in and I want to check what is read on the case among the younger readers （as a target， everybody can read YA obviously）。 Here， of course the reason was a lesbian storyline。 This book annoyed me。 Characters are too much。 Rachel is meant to be the leader - strong， cold and independent。 When I hav Unfortunately， DNF。 I knew from the start it is a young adult book so I should not put my expectations too high but occasionally， I enjoy this genre when it is focused on topics I am generally interested in and I want to check what is read on the case among the younger readers （as a target， everybody can read YA obviously）。 Here， of course the reason was a lesbian storyline。 This book annoyed me。 Characters are too much。 Rachel is meant to be the leader - strong， cold and independent。 When I have started the book， I thought she is already a well-know filmographer with issues about control and stress。 Few pages later， I found out that the girls are in college。 Sana is the perfect one here。 Literally no negative features。 She is supposed to be a feminist but she is described as she was naive and spoiled。 Of course， it is said that she works hard and be ambitious but it is written instead of being shown in action。 The opening part where Sana applies for a surgeon apprenticeship is very misleading， stupid and instead of showing Sana as smart， for me proves she is the contrary。 Too much timeline switches， I am cannot remember if she was applying for work after studies or for a student apprenticeship。 In both cases， something was strange here。 I don’t get why Sana is a cheerleader。 It was explained as it was not that sexist because she was a lesbian。 I mean， then it was an excuse for het to look at other girls therefore it makes everything okay？ The girl literally does not know why she likes cheerleading。 Definitely， very important part of the story then。 I only got through the first 40-50 pages and the author mentioned like three times that Sana smoothly moved her hair like it was something really exciting but it was for me quite tiresome。 The only good part was that it is not written in present tense。 Then， I probably would not bother to go further than few pages。 Disappointing but not too much as I could have expected it。 。。。more
Melissa Veras
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Rachel is the most judgmental character I have ever read， Jesus。
Katherine Kendig
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Wanted to like this - it's Gilmore Girls-inspired， and the characters seemed interesting - but every single "problem" the characters faced felt completely manufactured and melodramatic。 Wanted to like this - it's Gilmore Girls-inspired， and the characters seemed interesting - but every single "problem" the characters faced felt completely manufactured and melodramatic。 。。。more
Kennedy McKee-Braide
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pretty cute but a bit basic， took a lot to get into it and the characters weren’t the most likeable for a lot of the book。 was fun to read some easy wlw romance though！
Shreya
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4。4
AStar Reads
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3。75
Mari
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Very disappointed… I didn’t like Sana towards the end， she was acting like a caucasian child for no reason。 Rachel was fine。 Plus， the writing was weird， I don’t why though。 I’m not giving it a two because it’s a written by a Muslim author， and it had its good moments。
emmm_reads
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i read this book in a day and it was an overall very enjoyable read。i absolutely loved Sana; it took me a bit longer to warm up to Rachel but I ultimately ended up liking her a lot as well。 I liked that the romance built up very gradually， and loved the two characters together。 aside from the romance， I was very drawn in by the plot; I really enjoyed following everything going with Rachel’s film， as well as Sana’s struggles and questioning regarding her future education。 i also loved how casual i read this book in a day and it was an overall very enjoyable read。i absolutely loved Sana; it took me a bit longer to warm up to Rachel but I ultimately ended up liking her a lot as well。 I liked that the romance built up very gradually， and loved the two characters together。 aside from the romance， I was very drawn in by the plot; I really enjoyed following everything going with Rachel’s film， as well as Sana’s struggles and questioning regarding her future education。 i also loved how casual the sapphic representation was， and the fact that both girls were already out and clearly set in their identities years before the beginning of the story。 while there’s nothing wrong with coming-out stories or stories that focus heavily on the struggles that come with queer identity， I also love reading stories where queer characters just live their lives and other problems entirely， and this was definitely one of those stories。the only thing that bothered me about this book is that both characters are quite obviously written as lesbians （it is made clear that they are not attracted to men）， but the word « lesbian » is never used and instead， the characters are given lines such as « I’m not straight »， in contexts where the reader is meant to infer from this that they are lesbians。 i doubt the author meant to cause harm here， but I do feel that this somewhat feeds into bisexual erasure （a girl not being straight does not mean they are a lesbian， bi/pan/etc。 people exist） and reinforces stigma around the use of the word lesbian （lesbian is not a dirty word， and when authors constantly avoid using it， it feels like they’re viewing it as that， a bad， dirty word。） 。。。more
Abigail
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I really liked both of the characters， though they did make a few more questionable decisions。 The pace of the book was a bit slower than I would have preferred but it does make sense。 It's also really nice to read a high school love story with characters that are already out because it allows their relationship to be the main focus and not the pressures around coming out。 I really liked both of the characters， though they did make a few more questionable decisions。 The pace of the book was a bit slower than I would have preferred but it does make sense。 It's also really nice to read a high school love story with characters that are already out because it allows their relationship to be the main focus and not the pressures around coming out。 。。。more
emma
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3。5
lauraღ
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“It’s better to screw up on your own terms than to screw up on somebody else’s。 It’s better to have something you know is yours rather than what everyone tells you that you should want。” This was charming as hell; one of the best YA romances I've read in a little bit。 It was quirky and fun， with a lot of fun dialogue and heart。 I love these queer girls so much！The premise is really funny and made for a great first half。 Sana and Rachel are both ambitious， sorta overachievers， and they're enem “It’s better to screw up on your own terms than to screw up on somebody else’s。 It’s better to have something you know is yours rather than what everyone tells you that you should want。” This was charming as hell; one of the best YA romances I've read in a little bit。 It was quirky and fun， with a lot of fun dialogue and heart。 I love these queer girls so much！The premise is really funny and made for a great first half。 Sana and Rachel are both ambitious， sorta overachievers， and they're enemies。 They've been enemies since Sana asked Rachel out as a joke/prank last year， and Rachel has never forgiven her。 Except， of course， it wasn't a joke， Sana was serious， she's gay and had a crush and Rachel is just super defensive and couldn't believe that the prettiest girl in school， a popular cheerleader， was into her。 I loved that as the starting point of their romance， and the fact that the plot has them working together on a film。 Rachel is the very definition of a prickly heroine; she's a little mean， sarcastic and sorta always on the defensive。 That kind of character isn't for everyone， but it really worked for me here， especially when counterbalanced with Sana's POV。 Their road to romance was really cute。 I really liked the writing; it was snappy， with a lot of witticisms， and a lot of the imagery and metaphors struck me as atypical， and I liked it for that reason。 Like a lot of romances， the conflict is where this started to go a little downhill for me。 Both conflicts here， with Sana and her family and then with Rachel and Sana， stemmed from a lack of communication， which is always frustrating to me。 Sometimes it's understandable， because a writer can construct a scenario so difficult and emotional that you think， "Okay， I understand why the characters can't talk to one another！" That。。。 was not the case here。 In no circumstance was I convinced about why Sana didn't talk to her family about the fellowship， and especially why Rachel didn't talk to Sana about the film later on in the book。 That whole situation ended up feeling contrived and useless， which never feels good as a reader。 I also loved the plot with the film， and really wished that the movie itself got more page time？ There were lots of lost chances for effective storytelling there， imo。But I'm still really in love with this， for the writing， for the different perspectives on family and friendship talked about， for the diversity of experiences and characters。 I was smiling half the time reading this; it was light-hearted and funny but knew how to get sombre and serious。 Kudos; this won't be my last from this author。 。。。more
Jessana
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very cute， took me a while to get through though。 loved the dynamic between the two but i got annoyed sometimes （but i think it's a lot of typical teen angst that got me frustrated） very cute， took me a while to get through though。 loved the dynamic between the two but i got annoyed sometimes （but i think it's a lot of typical teen angst that got me frustrated） 。。。more
joana
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i'm so glad for e readers， imagine i had to look at this cover every time i wanted to pick up this book i'm so glad for e readers， imagine i had to look at this cover every time i wanted to pick up this book 。。。more
Katharina
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4。5 ⭐️
Sam
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 This was going to be a 4 star read for me。 Loved the cover， loved the story， the characters， the relationship but the ending was too quick。 It may look like an ending but nothing really got resolved。 I get that the author may want to keep her possibilities open to write a sequel but when you have such an adorable romance and you just end your story on a very "Hollywood" public love declaration which was very awkward and out of character for the introverted Rachel， then that is just disappointing This was going to be a 4 star read for me。 Loved the cover， loved the story， the characters， the relationship but the ending was too quick。 It may look like an ending but nothing really got resolved。 I get that the author may want to keep her possibilities open to write a sequel but when you have such an adorable romance and you just end your story on a very "Hollywood" public love declaration which was very awkward and out of character for the introverted Rachel， then that is just disappointing。Anyway I enjoyed the journey even if I didn't like the ending。 。。。more
Kali Stark
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Wow！ This was so cute。 What a great LGBT+ book to read during pride month。 I loved watching Rachel and Sana fall in love。 They were so cute and I couldn't help but root for them both。 Also， how could anyone not fall in love with Diesel。 As an enemy to lovers， I didn't feel as if it was rushed。 I would recommend this book for anyone wanting to read a quick LGBT+ book。 Wow！ This was so cute。 What a great LGBT+ book to read during pride month。 I loved watching Rachel and Sana fall in love。 They were so cute and I couldn't help but root for them both。 Also， how could anyone not fall in love with Diesel。 As an enemy to lovers， I didn't feel as if it was rushed。 I would recommend this book for anyone wanting to read a quick LGBT+ book。 。。。more
Fátima Heras
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Parecía fanfiction y la verdad solo tuvo tres capítulos que llamaban la atención y hacían la historia divertida。 Es muy irreal y tiene cambios abruptos sin sentido alguno， contradiciendo los capítulos anteriores。 Le daría 1 estrella pero solo por ser un wlw romance le daré una más， me puso feliz el capítulo donde iban a un karaoke （me conformo con poco）。
Marlous （agnesnutter_witch）
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2。5 starsThis book reads like fanfiction， which was both a good thing and a not-so-good thing。 I appreciate that it had some good points about feminist topics and that coming out or struggling with sexuality were not a part of the story。 I did not， however， like the writing style a lot。 I initially dnf'ed this book but later picked it up again， but the story took a long time before it started to pick up pace。 It felt like there were gaps in the storylines and some parts of it felt so unrealistic 2。5 starsThis book reads like fanfiction， which was both a good thing and a not-so-good thing。 I appreciate that it had some good points about feminist topics and that coming out or struggling with sexuality were not a part of the story。 I did not， however， like the writing style a lot。 I initially dnf'ed this book but later picked it up again， but the story took a long time before it started to pick up pace。 It felt like there were gaps in the storylines and some parts of it felt so unrealistic that I just couldn't be happy for the characters。 All in all not a bad read， but I also probably won't read this again。 Not my cup of tea I guess。 。。。more
Trigger Warning Database
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Trigger & Content WarningsInternalised misogynyAbsent parentAlcoholismHospitalCar accident
Natalie Crofts
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I got a little less than halfway in this book。 There were a lot of words per page and the plot was a little slow。 I'm going to take a pause on this book for the moment but I definitely will come back and finish it。 I got a little less than halfway in this book。 There were a lot of words per page and the plot was a little slow。 I'm going to take a pause on this book for the moment but I definitely will come back and finish it。 。。。more
Jana
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Almost didn't finish this one tbh。 Really wanted to like it， but nothing really worked for me。 The characters， the story， the writing style。。。 Just not my cup of tea。 （It pains me to give a queer book 2 stars， but at the same time I don't think it deserves more。） Almost didn't finish this one tbh。 Really wanted to like it， but nothing really worked for me。 The characters， the story， the writing style。。。 Just not my cup of tea。 （It pains me to give a queer book 2 stars， but at the same time I don't think it deserves more。） 。。。more
Penelope
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This was a really sweet love story and my god was it nice to read a book about queer women of color， but a lot of the time the writing was almost irritatingly simple。 The author overuses the word “but” and most of the book is written in simple sentences-especially outside of the dialogue which actually made the contrast that much more jarring。 It’s a good book， but it’s probably better for more middle school aged audiences。
Mary Pilling
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