Sophie Gonzales has my heart omg.

I didn’t know I needed a queer boy band romance in my life but HERE I AM.

The story is written from two perspectives: Zach and Ruben. Ruben is an extremely talented singer whose voice and sexuality have been smothered by the band’s management team. He has been trying out to come out as gay for years but Chorus Management is worried about how it will look to fans. Zach has a passion for songwriting and is a people-pleasure who doesn’t want to start trouble. As much as he is dying to write songs for the band, Chorus doesn’t see them as the right fit. When the band gets drunk one night to let off some steam, Zach, who everyone thought was straight, suddenly kisses Ruben and changes everything. Now they must decide what the future will look like for the band and must decide, as a team, what they want to stand for.

I really liked seeing the perspective of a boy band! It was fascinating to read about the many ways the team who is there to build you up also tears you down in so many more ways. Angel, another member of the band, starts using drugs and alcohol to numb the pain of the everyday struggle of pretending to be someone he isn’t. The band as a whole is unhappy with the personas their management forced on them and they feel restricted and pushed into a box they do not belong in.

I fell in love with the four boys. Each one is so different and vibrant—although the story is told through only Zach and Ruben’s eyes, I wanted to know more about Jon and Angel! While I don’t think this is planning to happen, I could definitely see this turning into a series.

If you’re not on the Sophie Gonzales train yet, what are you doing?!

This beautiful book is out December 7th 🥰

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thanks NetGalley and the published for this arc!

While 'If This Gets Out' doesn't hold up to Sophie Gonzales' previous work, it's still worth reading. Ruben, Zach, Angel, and Jon are all members of a boy band, and their friendship is easily my favorite part of the book. By the end, I was so proud of how far each of them had come, all dealing with pressures of the entertainment industry -- even if some of their storylines felt rushed.

The romance between Zach and Ruben is pretty cute, although they are both such bland characters, especially Zach. This is made even more pronounced by the book's alternating pov's which are mostly indistinguishable from each other, so sometimes i would forget which character was narrating. Also, too much introspection bogged down the novel.

*ARC provided by NetGalley

The romance here was cute, but at times it felt like there were too many narrative balls in the air - there were like four different plots happening at once, all dealing with equally serious issues (drug abuse, exploitation, parental trauma, coming out), and it almost felt like none of those got the full treatment each one deserved. The premise is great, but I think narrowing the focus a bit would have done this story good.

if this gets out is the story of a band called saturday, made up of zach, ruben, jon, and angel, told through the zach and ruben’s pov’s. they’re best friends, making music, but they're at a breaking point after years of being forced into roles dictated by their management—including ruben being forced to stay closeted, and zach not being allowed to write the music he wants to.

everything seems to change after one night when zach and ruben kiss.

this book has a lot to it. there’s the love story that unfolds between zach and ruben. there’s zach trying to understand his identity—both in regards to who he’s attracted to and in regard to what kind of artist he wants to be. there’s a relationship that must stay secret and the ways that it affects the people in the relationship and also those around them.

there’s the way that fame changes your life, and how it’s taken out of your control. how expectations and rules and limits are set. and how you lose your sense of self because who you’re forced to be isn't who you are.

this book is somehow both plot AND character driven. this is a book you put down really knowing who the characters are. you feel frustrated for them, yet also frustrated with them. i loved zach and ruben. i share ruben’s penchant for only listening to one broadway cast album and nothing else. and i saw parts of myself in zach that i didn’t expect to see—the way he’s so selfless to the point where he doesn’t know what his own goals are. even jon and angel were characters i felt like i knew after the book ended. and i wanted to protect them all.

i have now read every sophie gonzales book and i can very happily say that i’ll read anything she writes ever. i haven’t read anything by cale dietrich yet, but will def go back and read him because wow? their voices crafted one coherent story. but i was never confused about whose pov i was reading.

and the story they’ve chosen to tell is both incredible and important. i never had a one direction or boy band phase (i opted for the diehard taylor swift fan route). but i love stories that unpack what it means to be famous and the price that comes with it. this book was everything i wanted to be and more.

thank you so so much to @netgalley, @wednesdaybooks, and @sgonzalesauthor & @calerdietrich for the opportunity to read this arc. if this gets out releases on december 7, 2021.
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cw: underage drinking, drug use, toxic parent, not explicit sexual content, car accident

also the whole thing was so cinematic i need a tv adaptation please. one season is fine or maybe even what happens after 👀

I started If This Gets Out knowing that the premise would grab my attention enough but not at all expecting that I'd be enraptured by the story and the characters. This book is so good! I finished it in about a day, turning page after page, fully immersed in both Ruben's and Zach's points of view and unable to wait to see what happens next.

I'm not too familiar with how boy bands work, what dynamics they have with their producers or with their fans, but the way the authors frame the story and present the challenges the main characters were facing worked for me. Everything seemed plausible.

The boys felt real, their relationship felt organic and fresh, and I loved reading their journeys, as individuals and together. Sophie Gonzales is always a delight, and her work here shines just as bright as everything else she does. Cale Dietrich has such a way with his characters, and I really feel that he outdid himself here; this is some of his best work.

3/5 stars

Thank to Netgalley for providing this book!

The book was fine but i unfortunately wasn't too attached to the characters

This is an ARC so I had the opportunity to read it before is released.
Was good actually is a 3.5 stars. They story is good but are a couple of things that bother me a little bit.
And is that sometimes the characters feel a little flat. But it really surprised me the other side of being part of a fandom. As fans of a celebrity only have access to what the fans are talking about or making theories and we don't see what is behind of a successful in this case band. And also there's this side of industry taking advantage of young people to had more opportunities of making money.
Also the ending was like what I get it but just don't had me totally convinced.
I just want to say that I enjoy it, was a good story.

Have you ever wondered what you would get if you combined "Red, White, and Royal Blue," your favorite One Direction Liam/Harry fanfic, and a small splash of Camp Rock? Probably not, but if all of that intrigues you then you'll love "If This Gets Out!"

When their band Saturday, a worldwide phenomenon, goes on an international tour, Reuben and Zach must navigate their developing feelings for each other and the requirements of their record label. Along with excellent YA queer representation, this book is a great reflection of the sometimes ugly sides of show business. Even though they are international superstars, Ruben and Zach struggle with things we all struggle with while finding love against all odds.

My only critique of this book is the frequent mention of disordered eating and having to exercise to make up for eating desserts and high-calorie foods. These comments are framed within the context of the strict requirements made by the band's record label. However, I incorrectly assumed that it would be addressed later in the story. I cannot fully support a book that perpetuates harmful eating habits, especially when the book is being marketed to impressionable young readers.

Never was a huge 1D fan but BOYYYYY did this book catch my my surprise.
I laugh, cried and had a great time reading it

Unfortunately, these characters were so lacking in depth and the storyline seemed to be going absolutely nowhere. I could not bring myself to finish it.

𝑫𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒓: 𝑰 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝑨𝑹𝑪 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝑵𝒆𝒕𝑮𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒏 𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘.

AHH THIS BOOK!!! IS SOOO QUEER AND FULL OF HOPE 🙌❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

But okay, the book is so much more complex than that. It really makes you take a step back and realize how controlled the music industry is, and how a celebrity's life can be carefully curated.

Ruben's mom is the worst btw. It's the point. & it was thoroughly well done.

LOVE LOVE LOVE :

• YES to normalizing people who identify as male to live their emotions and CRYYYY
• YES to identifying toxic relationships in your life. You aren't obliged to unconditionally love your parents if they are toxic to you.
• YES to growing into your own person and affirming what you want
• YES to talking things out so you don't misinterpret them
• YES to thinking about yourself for once, and not always about others and making others happy

LIST OF THINGS I NOW HATE FOR LIFE :

• That this book ever had to end
• The music industry
• Ruben's mom
• Geoff
• Ruben's mom
• Mother of Ruben
• Mom to Ruben
• did I say Ruben's mom?

My ONLY critique is I couldn't always tell who's POV I was reading. But that could also be my mommy brain, who knows. 🤷‍♀️

Also, I believe the final show would've made a perfect ending, without the last few chapters. But then again, some of the subplots would've remained unresolved.

So anyways. This book is amazing. It is now officially my favourite Gonzales book. Yes, even more so than Only Mostly Devastated and Perfect on Paper. IF THAT'S EVEN POSSIBLE. You need to read it. Everyone does. If you don't, I might shove it down your throat. Gently. Or not.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Wow this was a really good story. I did not expect for the story to be compelling and suck you in.

I admit, my main reason for requesting an arc of "If This Gets Out" was Gonzales as one of the authors. I recently read and adored her "Perfect on Paper", and another book of hers is already waiting on my shelf. The blurb itself wasn't even that interesting to me, mostly because I've never been a boyband kind of girl myself and because, quite frankly, I find the amount of 'real people shipping' and fetishization of gay men that seems to be happening a lot in these particular fandoms concerning and borderline problematic. But I was still interested how all of this would play out in the hands of two talented authors, so I gave it a go. I don't regret it.

"If This Gets Out" is utterly adorable with lots of yearning, a plethora of tropes I love and a cast of complex, loveable characters. Both protagonists, Ruben and Zach, are fleshed out, flawed and relatable characters with issues that go beyond just their romance, which I really enjoyed. They didn't exist just for the romance, they were interesting people on their own. I rooted for the both of them and they deserve all the happiness in the world tbh. The other two members of their boyband are JUST as loveable and fleshed out, too, and I felt for all of them. They wormed their way into my heart and I won't ever get rid of them, I just know it.

The romance is swoonworthy and with just enough drama to keep it interesting without going completely overboard with it. The story on a whole is really intriguing and I loved how this novel puts a spotlight on the darker sides of the entertainment business - on closeting, on abuse, on power imbalances, on drug addiction, on exhaustion and constant pressure to perform. I don't know much about the inner workings of the music industry but honestly, I could easily see it happening just like in this book. Looking at modern boybands and kpop bands, it's probably a given. And it's horrible to read about.

There are just minor things that dampened my overall enjoyment of the book, and honestly, they're super subjective. While the writing was really engaging and fun and spot on, Zach's chapters especially tend to make the characters use the filler word "like" a loooot in the dialogue scenes, to a point where it gets unrealistic and a little annoying. I'm not American but I honestly don't think someone like Zach would naturally talk like this, especially because he doesn't in Ruben's chapters.
I'm also not entirely on board with how Angel's drug addiction was handled by his best friends. It didn't make sense to me for them to not even try to I don't know, get his parents involved or anything. It's not what best friends would do, at least not from where I'm standing. I also generally would have preferred the novel to address the racism Angel faces, as well as Jon to some degree, a little more openly. It's mentioned, it's described, but never actually called out for what it is - the homophobia is always at the forefront as the One Big Issue, obviously because it's part of the romance, but for all the good it does to call out these problematic structures in the music industry: if you include characters of color that face obvious racism (especially Asian stereotypes in this case), it should be more than just a sidelined mention that later gets ignored in the final confrontation.

But these are honestly minor gripes, I still really enjoyed this fast-paced, quick read and devoured it in two days. It's definitely a must-read for boyband fans especially, but even if you don't belong to any such fandom this is a highly enjoyable, very cutesy experience.

Zach and Ruben are two members of Saturday: the biggest boy band in the world. We join them as the begin their first European tour. While facing the pressures and fatigue of a big stadium tour, the two boys realize their mutual feelings for each other. Forced to keep it secret, the boys navigate their developing relationship, their roles in the group, and their connections to their other loved ones back home. I’m a life long boy band fan, going all the way back to the New Kids days, so needless to say I was pretty excited to read this one. And I’m happy to report that it certainly did not let me down. Were there moments that drifted into melodrama? Sure. Did that bother me? Not one bit. It did make me think about the reality that exists for many of these pop idols. It’s easy to write off their struggles when you see the financial benefits of success, but I wonder how many years people like Lance Bass, Ricky Martin, and Jonathan Knight lost sleep fretting and dissecting every action they took in public each day. The reality is, too many. Although I may be starting to grow tired of the ‘two voice narration’ that’s so popular in teen lit, I did love the choice to provide us with two main characters at different stages in their journey towards self-realization. All in all, I’d say that this was a really fun read that left me craving all my fave boy band hits when I was done.

This book is one of my favorite reads of the year so far! I loved the story, the character development in this book, the friendships, the love story, and just how relatable it all was.

There were so many things I loved about this book! The friendship between Jon, Angel, Ruben, and Zach was heartwarming and raw. It showed how different people in friend groups connect, manage challenges, fall apart, and fall together. The story highlights them all dealing with the own individual challenges and coming together when they need to support one another. I think it was a beautiful display of how friendships aren't always easy, and that is what makes them real is that at the end of the day these friends would fight for each other.

The relationship between Ruben and Zach was amazing. They start off as great friends that learn to navigate challenges and joys as their relationship changes from friendship to romantic. The pacing of the relationship felt realistic, and I loved the moments where they were cheesy and acknowledged that it was okay to feel cheesy and loving towards each other. I loved that they story followed them finding themselves and encouraging each other to be their best selves by growing within their relationship,

One of my favorite parts of this book is watching all the character navigate and find who they are as people. Yes they do it within the restrictions of an over-pressing management company, but it felt generalizable in terms of just finding out who you want to be and finding the way to be that version of yourself despite others opinions and how they view you. I loved how this story also encouraged drawing boundaries in relationships that may not be the most supportive. All in all, one of my favorite reads this year! If you are thinking about it, pick it up and read!

An incredible LGBTQ+ friendly book! When I began reading, I thought this would be a lighthearted read, and it was a quick and easy read, but I wouldn't call it lighthearted! Emotions are so high in this book, and it translates perfectly to readers.

It's hard to not see the comparisons with One Direction and Larry Stylinson, but Ruben and Zach are also their own characters and completely separate. I'm excited to read more from both authors of this book.

REVIEW TAKEN FROM MY GOODREADS:

ARC provided by NetGalley

This book exceeded all of my expectations. It's a simple plot, but it's so much more than a romcom, and that really took me by surprise.

The writers haven't shied away from all of the issues the band--especially Zach and Ruben--face from their management (and parents), but it's handled extremely well. I don't know much about the entertainment industry but it felt very believable every step of the way--even if I felt like SCREAMING from frustration at what some of the characters have to deal with.

And honestly, I think it's a marker of how well this book is written that I felt genuine anger towards a lot of the side characters.

The romance is also very believable; and even though the story centres around Ruben and Zach, all of the band members are still fleshed out well, including their relationship with each other. I was rooting for them all, even while they were making bad choices.

I really enjoyed Only Mostly Devastated, and Sophie is what drew me to this book initially, but I'll definitely be following up on Cale Dietrich after this.

If This Gets Out follows two main perspectives of a four-person boy band called Saturday. Ruben loves theatre and performing but is worn out and guarded from years of being forced to stay in the closet by Saturday’s management team. Zach is portrayed as the bad boy of the group to the media but is really kind and puts everyone else’s needs above his own, he is newly coming to terms with his bisexuality as he starts falling for Ruben. Ruben, Zach, and the other two band members (Jon and Angel) are put under a lot of pressure by their first international tour as well as being forced to hide aspects of their lives and personalities from the world.

This book is both heartbreaking and heartwarming and the same time. It is a complex look at the pressure that is put on celebrities, especially when they are young and just figuring themselves out. The relationships between all four of the band members were so well-developed and fascinating to read about. The romance between Ruben and Zach was sweet and wholesome, it wasn’t perfect but the way that they settled conflict and communicated was so beautiful. It is really refreshing to read a queer book focused on coming out that doesn’t use a tragic event forcing the couple to come out as a plot device. Ruben and Zach weren’t always in control of the narrative surrounding their relationship but the main conflict didn’t capitalize on their victimization. I couldn’t put this book down and read most of it in a one-day binge. The writing was also fantastic. Each of the main characters had very distinct personalities and voices and I felt fully immersed in both perspectives. Many times reading books written with multiple perspectives, I either favor reading one perspective over the other or reading about the same event from multiple perspectives feels repetitive. However, the balance between Ruben and Zach’s chapters was so perfect. This is the type of queer, contemporary YA romance that the world needs right now.

Thanks to NetGalley for the free ARC of this book.
If This Gets Out by Sophie Gonzales and Cale Dietrich is one of my absolute favourite books of the year! It revolves around the romantic relationship of Ruben and Zach, two members of the biggest boyband in America, Saturday and how the band learns to cope with how famous they’ve become.
I absolutely loved the build-up of their romantic relationship. All the members of Saturday are flawed and loveable. At no point in the story did I feel it dragged or went on too long. In the best way possible, it read like fanfiction.
This book was so charming and enjoyable, and I will be recommending it everyone I know for the rest of the year.

Longer review to come!

This book. This book was everything! This had two of my favorites: boy bands & gay romance.

I have been a fan of boy bands more than half my life. I never read fan fiction and even in more recent times, I never was on board with ships of different members or fed into any conspiracies. I put those preconceived notions out of my brain (I am a firm non believer of Larry - Iykyk) while reading this.

This book is about the most popular boy band in the world, Saturday. They met as kids at camp & the rest is history. As oppose to the traditional 5 member boy band, this one is 4 members who each have been branded their own persona. We learn that the persona the public sees, does not necessarily match who they are privately.

Ruben, is gay (forced to keep it private) who has been somewhat of a prodigy which also proves to be extra pressure on him.

Jon, the manager’s son who tries to do right by not only his father, but by the band and also by his religion.

Angel, the wild child of the four. He keeps everyone on their toes & was apart of the climax part of the book where things shift.

Lastly, Zach, always identified as straight but could not deny his feelings for Ruben. Zach is a people pleaser who will often put others wants before himself.

The authors paint a picture of what it is like to be in a boy band - the ups and downs. We see what is in the surface but don’t know the layers behind the scene. And knowing what I know about boy bands and management, this is an accurate portrayal.

I do not want to give much away but the romance. Oh the romance in this hits ya right in the feels. We get to see the complicated feelings of coming out and realizing who you are. Also I love the pure friendship between the four men & their trust with one another.

I would love a sequel exploring what happens next for Saturday and of course with Zuben.