If This Gets Out follows two members of the boy band, Saturday. When the pressure of stardom and life on the road while touring starts to become overwhelming, Zach and Ruben begin to rely on each other for support. Love blossoms, but it soon becomes clear that not everyone is in support of their relationship.

This book was so great. I loved it. I loved Zach and Ruben. This isn’t that long of a book, but I became so attached to the characters.

I really enjoyed the writing style and thought that Cale and Sophie did a great job blending making sure the flow remained consistent despite the book being written by two authors.

I also really liked that the book was able to delve into some of the problems in the music industry. I thought that those issues were handled well.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Wednesday books for providing me with an eARC in exchange for a review!!

Once I started this book, I couldn't put it down. Between the sweet fluffy romance, the gritty portrayal of the way the music industry abuses teenagers, and the fraught relationship between Reuben and his mom, this story was the boyband romcom of my dreams. It hit on everything I wanted, and then went beyond that and gave me everything I didn't know I needed. I highly, HIGHLY recommend that everyone read this book, especially those of us who grew up reading fanfiction - it'll satisfy that craving and leave you wanting more!

How incredible was this book? It was top notch. All of the different emotions were swirling in me while reading this.

To the public, the masses, the fans, things for the boy band, Saturday, are amazing. They are on top of the world, doing long tours, making great music, having the best time ever. And for these four close friends, things are going well, but there is something going on beneath the surface that not everyone is privy to.

This book went so deep in the mechanism of a modern boy band and the way they are policed by management and how they are forced into this box, even if they are spilling out of it in actuality. My heart broke for these boys at times. I rejoiced with them in other moments. Such a fabulous dynamic.

At the heart of this story, we have Ruben and Zach. Best friends, band mates… a couple of eighteen year olds trying to maneuver through their crazy lives… Ruben is gay and hasn’t been able to come out publicly… and he definitely hadn’t been able to tell his best friend that he has more than platonic feelings for him.

But what if those feelings are suddenly reciprocated? What does that mean for the band? What does that mean for these two friends? Especially when the road is rocky and they aren’t allowed to go public?

This book was so special. I adored all four members of the band and felt so strongly for the struggles they each went through.

5 wonderful stars to Sophie Gonzales and Cale Dietrich for this beautiful story!

Growing up in the 90s, I loved American boy bands, so I was immediately drawn to this story. If This Gets Out, while a work of fiction, explores the reality young celebrities in entertainment go through: the battle between the image you are supposed to portray and the real you.

The book hold readers attention as Saturday, a 4 member boy band, travels on the European leg of their tour. The story is told through alternating view points, between Ruben and Zach. Ruben, who was written by Gonzales, struggles with wanting to come out as gay to his fans, but the management company Chorus has forced him to stay closeted. Zach, written by Dietrich, dreams of being able to write songs for the band, but is unable to due to Chorus's controlling nature. Together with Jon and Angel, the boys navigate their way through fame, while struggling with who they are as individuals. Ruben and Zach have been close friends, but one night they realize that there's something more between them, and a secret romance blossoms.

The characters were written so well, it felt like they were a real band. I found myself rooting for Zuben's romance, and hoping Saturday would be able to break away from the toxic Chorus management style. It was a rollercoaster of emotions as I found myself feeling happiness, worry, excitement, sadness, and hope.

I really hope that Gonzales and Dietrich write a sequel. The book wrapped up well, but I would love to read more about Angel, Jon, Ruben and Zach. I also really hope this book is turned into a TV show or movie.

Im sure Lance Bass from NSYNC would be proud of the author's for writing this story. It's now one of my top reads of 2021.

Since forming the world-famous boyband Saturday, Zach, Ruben, Angel, and Jon have been caught up in a flurry of live shows, interviews, tour dates, and paparazzi. As worldwide sensations, they have little time and even less control over their lives. As they head off on a whirlwind tour of Europe and their management teams gain a tighter and tighter grip on their lives, Zach and Ruben grow closer than they ever have before. When their friendship develops into something deeper, will they have the courage to fight their management and share their secret with the world?

TW for homophobia, forced closeting, verbal abuse/manipulative behaviour from a parent and other adult figures, disordered eating, and substance use/abuse.

This book reads like a fanfiction in the best way possible. The comparisons between If This Gets Gets Out and One Direction are definitely warranted: this book is an ode to Directioners, and, quite honestly, would not exist without the fanbase and the shipping that followed it everywhere for years. However, even as someone who was never a One Direction fan, this book was great.

I loved seeing the relationships between all the boys (not just Ruben and Zach) as the book progressed. Each character's personality and relationships fit into the narrative very well, and while this often doesn't happen in real life, being able to trace insecurities and conflicts to specific events made for a very compelling plot. I honestly couldn't put this book down. It had me hooked from the very beginning, all the way through each crazy twist and turn.

There were definitely parts where I felt like Zach and Ruben could have had more one-on-one time to develop their relationship, though. I feel like there was less of a focus on the actual romance and more about the circumstances around the romance. Sometimes it seemed like the romance was just a vehicle for the larger band vs management storyline, which I wasn't totally opposed to, but I felt like their interactions could have used an extra push to go from sweet to really meaningful and heart-wrenching. More pining! More angst!

Overall, this book has enough familiar tropes to be comforting, with enough twists to stop it from being cliche and overdone. If you enjoy queer romance, fame, and stories about fandom, this book is for you!

this was so absolutely terrible, the premise sounded so interesting but the writing was super cringy. The setting was like one cliche stacked over another and they were all executed poorly, i had to roll my eyes every two lines.
I’m so tired of storylines abound bands just using the “omg management it’s so oppressive and i hate my fans so much they think they know me and are so annoying” trope and “artist has a substance problem” trope
And the characters felt like they weren’t stablished at the beginning i don’t know anything about any of them

*ARC provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review* Zach and Ruben are two lead singers of the popular boyband Saturday. As the two begin to navigate a relationship together, the struggles of management and being in the public eye prove to be a challenge. The pair refuse to back down, If This Gets Out is a heartwarming coming of age tale that navigates sexuality, coming out, and societal pressure in a refreshing way. I highly recommend this book and enjoyed every moment of reading.

my review will be available on goodreads and instagram published on 09/22/2021

If This Gets Out follows the popular boyband Saturday that’s growing ever more popular. But while the four members look like the perfect teen heartbreaks in front of the cameras, cracks are starting to form backstage. As the pressure of being famous intensifies and their schedules become more gruelling, they start to feel smothered. As they tour Europe, Zach and Ruben grow closer and eventually their friendship turns into something more. But when they decide to come out to the world and their management denies their request, they start to wonder just how much longer they’ll have to hide their true selves to toe the line. How can they hold on to each other when they’re not allowed to hold each other in public at all?
I am always equal parts exhilarated and terrified when I hear about two authors collaborating on a book with such a fantastic premise and I can confidently tell you, Gonzales and Dietrich’s did not disappoint with If This Gets Out.
I really enjoyed both protagonists. Ruben’s struggles of being forced to stay in the closet, always having to compromise, to toe the line made my heart ache for him. There’s a lot going on with Ruben behind the scenes and I loved that we got a glimpse of just how isolated he is even though he’s surrounded by people all the time. Zach, too, was on a whole new level of relatability. Honestly, it gets quite frustrating at times reading about Zach and Ruben’s struggle to be themselves while kept under the thumb of their management – but imagine how frustrating it must be for the characters if you’re frustrated just reading about it – and it’s hard to realize how much Zach has been influenced to be compliant, to not make any fuss, to not do anything that could possibly, in any sort of way, inconvenience anyone else. Fellow people-pleasers (please tell me I’m not alone) will feel as much hurt and frustration and fear as Zach does and, eventually, cheer for Zach as he learns to take up space in a world that has told him he shouldn’t.
While I would have wished for a bit more background info on the band’s early days and perhaps more scenes establishing the relationship between everyone, I think it’s easy to fall head over heels for Saturday. Though Angel and Jon aren’t the focus of this book, they get their own story arcs that add to the overall compelling read that If This Gets Out is. Through their struggles, we also get to see more about individuality and how it is compromised in the entertainment industry in order for them to be more palatable to the masses, which I was so engrossed by.
Speaking of engrossed, let’s talk about the romance between Zach and Ruben for a hot second. I’m a sucker for friends-to-lovers stories and this book definitely delivered. We get to follow both characters as their feelings change for each other and there are so many tiny moments that speak to this friendship blossoming into more. There’s also an element of questioning your sexuality which I thought was handled very beautifully – the confusion and anxiety paired with the little thrill of realizing that there’s something new to explore you might not have picked up on before was super relatable. I also loved how, beyond the external forces keeping Zach and Ruben apart, we have this storyline of the two of them helping each other become more confident in their own choices and ambitions, especially since both characters deal with problematic family situations. Beyond being adorable and enamoring, there is a sense of true support and loyalty underlying their romance which made me root for them all the more.
If This Gets Out is far from solely being a romance book, though. In fact, I was kind of shocked by the amount of serious topics that were packed into this story, but I won’t spoil them all. The one that was most compelling was how it addressed the pressure the band’s management puts on them and the restrictions that come with being in an internationally acclaimed band.
Where Gonzales and Dietrich really excelled, in my opinion, was in showing the disillusionment Zach and Ruben go through. Much of this story focuses on the exploitation of stars in the entertainment industry and it’s such a riveting subject matter. From the outside, being in a boyband sounds like the ultimate dream – fans vying for your attention, platinum records, singing to sold-out stadiums – but there’s a dark underbelly to all that fame. I loved how Ruben and Zach’s respective personalities informed how they reacted to certain decisions Chorus Management made for them. In these moments, you could really tell just how much one of them had been manipulated to submit to their will without much fanfare while the other was just endlessly frustrated with being used like a puppet and incapable of changing it without risking everything. Everyone in the band plays the ‘game’ because they have to, but the repercussions this has for their identity, their sense of self-worth and the way they interact with each other is portrayed in the most compelling manner.
While I won’t spoil the ending, I do want to point out that it’s as empowering as it is enlightening. The boys get support from an (at least to me) unexpected source late in the game and while I wished that they would have had some female support – or really any female character who isn’t out to get them – earlier in the novel, I do think the last few chapters will feel healing to readers who’ve always wanted to take a stand despite the world telling them they couldn’t. Though the ending is satisfying, I would have no problem (wink wink) with Gonzales and Dietrich returning to these boys for another novel or two (read: please just give me a full-length novel about Jon and Angel).
A riveting tale about what goes on behind the scenes of a popular boyband and detailing the pressures queer, marginalized artists face in the entertainment industry, If This Gets Out is the perfect read for anyone who loves music, friends-to-lovers romances or ever secretly shipped members of a band!

I really enjoyed this work. I love the writing of both Sophie Gonzales and Cale Dietrich. This was a pretty fast paced YA read and I enjoyed the diversity and openness that this book had to offer.

Meet Zach, Ruben, Angel, and Jon. They are the four members of the boy pop group Saturday. Touring the world, these four learn who they are individually and together. We are exposed to how the band is expected to act, dress, speak, dance, sing, and be.

I loved the quick, easy to read pace. The writing was detailed, but not overly done. The characters are created to be so individualized that it really adds to the overall appeal of the storylines. I really appreciated how the story had multiple storylines that were all interwoven, but it did not feel too busy. Each piece played a very important role in understanding the overarching picture.

The characters were likeable, relatable, and entertaining. They highlighted the realistic life of young adult males and those in the limelight early on.

Many thanks to St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books for an advance copy of this book through NetGalley.

Boy bands AND friends as family? Yes please. Zach and Rueben are 2/4's of the world's hottest boy band, along with Jon and Angel. The four are like brothers and are in the middle of touring when the book starts. If This Gets Out follows the boys along their tour and we get a backstage pass to ALL of the drama and romance and pressure they are facing head on. I think the book portrays the less glamorous parts of being famous and away from home really well in addition to how people can break under that pressure. I also thought that the romance between Zach and Rueben felt really organic and it was easy to see how they fell for each other.

Jon's father needs me to punch him in the crotch. There's a huge event at about 70% that I did not see coming until it was smack in my face. I really liked how the book tackled a lot of heavy issues but in a way that was easy and enjoyable to read. I think the one criticism I have is that the book felt a little too long but I understand why the authors made their choices and I'm not mad.

I read the entire book in one sitting which was awesome because I haven't been able to do that in months. Maybe this book will break that, who knows?

If you want a romance that tackles the pressure of being famous, along with a really sweet friends to lovers plot and a world tour, you should definitely pick this one up in December when it comes out.

If This Gets Out was a good read. If you’re a fanfic reader, you’re going to love this novel so much. It was easy to read. The dialogue flowed well, there was a lot of it (I LOVE DIALOGUE and LOTS of it, it’s my jam). I could picture the hotels they were at, and I could see them performing on stage.

Ruben and Zach make up half of the boyband Saturday. Saturday is touring through Europe and trying to deal with the stress of their fame and the pressures of being teenagers on the edge of adulthood.

Throughout the tour, Zach and Ruben become closer as they deal with the drama of Angel and toeing the line around Jon because his father is management. It’s easy to be free and themselves around each other. But the closer they got; the further apart management pulled them.

Their first kiss, and everything after was so … sweet. A lot of the romance happened off-screen to fit the YA Adult sphere. Their kisses and little touches between them? I lived for it. There were times they couldn’t keep their hands off each other and I was all, yes please, can I get more of this? Because it was just that good.
Drama happened (of course) and the boys tackled it together. They truly were a family and cared for each other. That was a special bond, and I was glad to see it strengthen over the course of the book.

Spicy rating? Two out of Five.

If This Gets Out was so good! It was cute, and hot at the same time and all one could want in a musically based romance novel.

If This Gets out follows Zach and Ruben who are in a band together, Saturday, along with Jon and Angel. They are all close friends, but Zach and Ruben are secretly falling for each bit by bit. Slight squabbles here and there. Doesn’t take away from the journey to find themselves and do what they can to express who they are when the people around them make it hard to be who they actually are freely.

I personally loved the characters so much, as they are so lovable! I think they’re all unique in their own way. And so much room for growth.

How have we not gotten MORE boy bad YA romances?! Tell me, WHERE were these kinds of books when I was a teen, because I would've devoured them and handed them to friends like Skittles, in hopes of spreading joy and love right at the height of the Backstreet Boys / Nsync / 98 Degrees era. I CANNOT wait for my teen to get to read this one. I'm THRILLED that YA (& especially this one that leans more toward the new adult) has so many must reads like this one that show that being a teen is not all rainbows and sunshine, but there are adult problems no matter who you are and where you came from.

Even if you just happen to be in a boy band, traveling the world with your secret crush.

As a huge fan of Sophie Gonzales' books (we read Perfect on Paper as a club, and I just find her writing style to be fun and relatable) I could NOT wait to read this book written by her + Cale Dietrich. This dual POV was everything, and I felt like we were taken along for the ride right alongside the band as they dealt with money, fame, pressure and the darker side of the music industry that also felt suspiciously close to the stress of being a teen in high school.

The character growth, the conflict, the friendships - be prepared to ship this one HARD.

If you've ever fangirled so hard you knew your boybands favorites better than your BFF. If you've ever lost your voice at a concert, or knew in your heart that song was written for you, I urge you to pick up this book and fall in love alongside Zach and Rueben. I'm beyond excited to be hosting this one for loveARCtually in November, and discuss the book with friends!

4.5 stars rounded up to 5 for me, only because I couldn't believe what a CHUNK this book was. Thank you to NetGalley + Wednesday Books for the eARC and Shelf Awareness for the advance reader physical copy!

Ruben, Zach, Angel, and Jon met at a music camp and ended up becoming the new hottest boy band around. However, their management team wants to mold them into the perfect image, regardless if that image actually reflects who the boys are. Ruben is being forced to hide the fact that he is gay, as the management team is afraid of what that revelation will do to the fans. As all four boys start to feel more and more repressed, the pressures of the grand European tour start to make all of them realize how much management is taking away from them. Ruben starts to lean more and more on Zach and the two start to realize that if they want to create their own futures, they will have to break away from the toxic management team. My favorite part of this book was how strong the four boys' friendship is throughout all the challenges they face.

4.5 Stars

Ruben + Zach

They're both part of the famous boy band SATURDAY.
The four boys all met in a rock camp as kids and Jon's dad manages them. And that's their biggest problem - they're so completey managed that their own lives and personalities, their own hopes and wishes don't matter anything anymore.
Ruben is never allowed to mention that he's gay!
But what when suddenly - on their first European tour - his best friend and band mate Zach seems interested in him? His straight buddy Zach!!

LET THE FUN TIMES BEGIN...

══════════════════

Well. I liked this.
I'm a huge rock star romance fan. This wasn't really a rock star thing, but almost. We're on tour, there are fans and shows and media and hotels and tiredness et cetera.
I really liked that part. And the romance part too. Poor Zach doesn't really know what's happening with him and he doesn't want to hurt his friend by starting something, when in the end it could've been just a phase for him. Ruben's been hurt enough.
Adorable.
I hate the management. Ugh. Those horrible people - what they do to those boys! And the mom! What's her problem? Is she bipolar or just a psychopath?

I wasn't 100% sure of the writing. There were some weird parts here and there - I had to read some things twice to get what it was supposed to mean. I think part of that is because the authors are Australian and it shows in a few little expressions.
And the font - that's probably just a blogger thing - the real book will be better. But Zach's POV was printed in a very tiny font.

I also didn't love the missing sexy parts. I get that it's for younger readers, but they're all 18 in the book - so a little bit more wouldn't have hurt. It's not even a fade to black thing - most times it's a fade to three days later in another country completely new scene thing. 😏

But still - it was a cute music romance with all the problems that come with being gay, with finding out you're bi and all that while being the female fans' dream boys in a boy band. Plus some addiction problems and depression and faith questions for the other two boys. And all the horrible management drama that's so typical with kids who are way too young when they start that life.
It was a lot for this one book - which I had hoped would be a much sweeter and sexier and more adorable rock star romance. Maybe the other two could get their own book? Will they? And it also just ended - it wasn't an open end, but it could've gone on for much longer! I wanted to know so much more! Maybe a few pages about Jon and Angel could've been cut and used for their books, and we could've gotten a bit more about Zach and Ruben. BUT - it was totally okay the way it was! I make it sound as if this was a really bad book - it wasn't at all! I really loved reading this. Ruben and Zach are adorable and the other two are great too...
And if the other two won't get their own book, I still want a sequel for the guys!
I also wouldn't mind seeing this on Netflix one day! ☺

► IF THIS GETS OUT was a sweet + adorable + funny + musicy + drama-y young/new adult boy band love story. Run to your nearest amazon for your own Ruben + Zach - they'll be sold out in no time!

I’ve had this book as an ARC from NetGalley for months and never got around to reading it. I kept 1) requesting more books from them, 2) requesting physical and e-books from the library and 3) buying more physical books to own! Basically I was setting myself up for failure from the very beginning.

The book is set to hit shelves on December 7 of this year so with that date less than three months away, I knew it was time to get to it. This story follows two members of a boy band, Zach and Ruben, and their bandmates Angel and Jon, as they navigate the complexities of being teenagers under immense pressure to perform in more ways than one alongside everything else that comes with just being a teenager.

Ruben is gay and Zach is just starting to figure out his identity at the start of the book but the tension between the two is palpable. Once they get together, there’s even more roadblocks in their way and when their international tour gets to Europe, that’s when things start to go south. Not just for Zach and Ruben, but for pretty much everyone in the group.

I think this was a super cute but real queer YA love story. We follow Zach on his journey to figuring out what his sexuality actually is and having to deal with coming out for the first time over and over again. We see how the management group reacts and begins to pressure him (in a way he doesn’t realize is pressuring at first) to stay in the closet the way they’d been doing to Ruben for the past two years.

In the notes at the end of the book, the authors wrote about how they wanted this book to speak to the pressures queer people face in entertainment. How they’re expected to put on these personas and not be their authentic selves. Even without the note from them, I knew that’s what they were going for. The book got me thinking about how strategically-placed every celebrity is and how, to this day, few still get to live in their entire truth.

Aside from that, the book doesn’t shy away from getting into the nitty gritty of the pressures that are put on people in the spotlight, especially young ones. They are expected to look a certain way and act a certain way, even if that is the complete opposite of who they actually are. Everything is a marketing ploy to make money. It really makes you think about the celebrities you follow and how much of their persona is real or conjured by marketing groups.

There are so many layers to this book. I could spend hours getting into them. All in all, I quite enjoyed it. I thought it was a cute queer YA romance. It was real and didn’t sugarcoat anything. I give it 4 stars.

4.5 stars

Such an intriguing story - so many different layers!
On the surface, it's a love story.
On a deeper level, it's an expose' of the music business and the damage that is done to young celebrities. Also, Ruben's mother is everything wrong with stage mothers. I wanted to wring her neck so many times!
Personally, I would classify it as New Adult. Some scenes were pretty intense and I think it is more suited to older teens.
The ending was a bit ambiguous but hopeful. However, I would have liked a little more closure.
I especially liked that two authors wrote alternating PoVs. Made it more realistic.

Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this digital ARC in return for an honest review.

"At the crux of it, everyone wants the world to see them as they are. The truth isn't the problem. The problem is that the world doesn't always make the truth safe for us to share"
If this gets out is a book about the damage of entertainment industry cause to young artists, two boys finding love despite manipulating and greedy people.
First of all, i find Zach and Ruben the most relate characters ever. On one side we have Ruben, you're very talented theater kid, but pictured as the most plain and likeble person on the band. Raised by a abusive mom, he's very perceptive of people's intention, what turns out his most treasure and worst talent. Zach, on the other hand is a people pleaser. Painted as a sexy harry styles (i mean, the long hair??? common!), is a and underestimated songwriter, who loves alt music and is a sweetheart. We also have Jon, who's the band's manager son, very reserve but caring, and Angel, or as i prefer the live of the party .
This book navegates not only Zach's and Ruben's journey but also the consequences in body and mind when the people who sohuld be responsable and caring about your well being only care about the money and fame.
Heads up to some TW such as: anxiety attack, homophobia, suicide mention, eating disorder .
Sophie and Cale managed to do an excellent job at portait the frustration, fear (70% mark is just gonna come and hit you like a trainwreck), anxiety and euphoria from the main couple and they journey, as a couple and teammates) to find out who they really are, put boudaries on harmeful relationships and communicate better.

I wanted to read this book because I love Sophie Gonzales and Cale Dietrich. And I was so grateful for the opportunity to get to read and review it. I didn’t really know what to expect going into it. But I did really enjoy it. I usually avoid boy band or celebrity singer type of books but I’m so pleased that I gave it a chance. I had a lot of feelings, most of which were good. And I needed a book like this. It also helped with my reading slump a bit.

A good fun read, just what we need for the end of summer. If you enjoy fun romances, this is for you!