I received a copy of If This Gets Out through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

If This Gets Put by Sophie Gonzalez and Cale Dietrich follows a very popular boy band and their struggles on the road and with a relationship amongst the group. Rueben and Zach, two friends and band members, find themselves struggling to deal with management and public image when their simple friendship starts to turn into something more. As this is happening we see the struggles of the rest of the band members, Angel and Jon, and just how little freedom these boys have within their band.

I knew I wanted to read this book when I saw the description, growing up I always had a thing for boy bands and this gave me a fun look at what could have been going on inside each of those real life bands. When you are a fan in the outside, you don’t think about the potential struggles on the inside and this book did a good job at showing what could very well have been happening. This was a really well written YA romance and I love the characters and their stories. I would definitely recommend this book to any boy band fan or anyone looking for a good YA romance read.

Sophie Gonzales has been one of my fave authors for long. I was so stoked about reading a other book - my expectations were met and OH BOI THIS BOOK, Just all the feels, all the smiles and all the cries. The perfect coming of age and finding yourself book — incouding every damn emotion you can feel while rooting for the MCs, Ruben is my abs fave!

Queer boy band romance?!! I'm in!

While I was born in the 80's, I grew up in the 90's/early 2000's, so I was definitely right in the beginning of the boy band craze. 'NSync>BSB. Not sorry. ANYWAYS, this is the story of Saturday, a very famous boy band consisting of four members. The chapters go back and forth between two of them which are the two characters who have a romance with each other.

The story focuses on Ruben and Zach, who both struggle within their band and not being allowed to express themselves they way they want to since they management is so strict about every little thing they do.

Things I loved:

This is a great queer story for young people. It involves standing up for yourself and being honest with yourself and the world about who you are.

I liked the relationships the bandmates had with each other.

There are distinct personalities within the band and they all support each other.

The dynamics between the two main characters and the relationships they had with their mothers.

Queer love. It needs to be celebrated more, especially involving young people.

Overcoming the obstacles involving drug use and the band's super controlling management.


Things I did not love:

It was incredibly predictable.

The writing style is very amateur.

I wished there had been a bit more humor/connection to today's teenagers.

Overall, I am glad I read this book. I do think it will be good for many young people, both queer and not. I can see it being especially popular with the creative and artistic type of people who are music lovers. I look forward to more queer novels from Sophie Gonzales and Cale Dietrich.

Thank you to Net Galley, Sophie Gonzales, Cale Dietrich and Wednesday Books for the ARC ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis in two Sentences:
An extremely popular boy band that is taking the world by storm. Two members fall in love but are forced by the music label to hide their relationship and who they are for fear of ruining the image of the band.

My Thoughts:
This is written by dual authors Sophie Gonzales and Cale Detrich who are both known for queer representation in their books. This one does not disappoint. It beautifully illustrates the struggle someone may have with their sexual identity and coming out. The story also addresses the pressure many young artists deal with being thrust into the spotlight at such a young age.

This story reminded me of teen years and my obsession with boy bands. I couldn't help but think of my teenage room covered in Backstreet Boys posters and me rocking out to their music. While I never attended a concert I definitely would have been one of those screaming fans if I did.

I really enjoyed the alternate points of views between two of the main characters as each author took a character. I am not usually a big fan of co-authors because it can be difficult to pull off but Sophie Gonzales and Cale Dietrich created a masterpiece. I highly recommend this one.

I'm such a fan of Sophie Gonzales, but I hadn't read anything by Cale Dietrich before. This author duo is the perfect amount of heartfelt and sweet and I can't wait to see what they write in the future. I went into this book expecting a fun rom-com about the music industry and secret relationships but the story ended up being lot more serious, addressing themes like drug abuse and exploitation of young musicians.

I adored Ruben and Zach (and Angel!!) throughout the entire book. Their relationship felt so real and Angel was the perfect amount of comic relief. I loved his dialogue, his relationship to Ruben and Zach, and this strong portrayal of male friendship. While I expected the book to be most about Zach and Ruben's relationship and coming to terms with their sexualities, the content had much more to do with the confines the music industry places on young performers to live up to impossible standards.

This book was such a delight and definitely delivers on the heartwarming, rom-com pitch.

E-ARC received as part of street team
oh gosh!! where do i even start with this book,, it’s a wild ride to read in the most enjoyable way possible. it’s one of the most refreshing and original books i’ve read all year with such a realistic focus on relationships and working yourself out. i can’t recommend everyone to read this enough when it comes out in December!!

THANK YOU NETGALLEY FOR THE EARLY ARC OF THIS BOOK💕💕

This book was amazing. I had high expectations for it and it definitely fulfilled them. It was a book that had me interested from the beginning and carried that through the last page. I loved seeing how similar yet different Zach and Rueben were.

In this book Zach and Reuben are part of a boy band called Saturday, and their management team is controlling their every move, so they decide to take matters into their own hands. I love how connected I became with the characters (i will be needing a whole separate book on Anjon pretty please) and it was overall a really good book. Highly recommend!

Full Review Here: http://www.millennialbeautysisters.com/if-this-gets-out-book-review/

I LOVED these characters. They were all so human and beautiful and just going THROUGH IT. I really enjoyed how the authors were able to take something so far out there (for most of us at least...pop star dreams shall remain only that for me...but alas) and make it super relatable.

I also thoroughly enjoyed all the representation. So much going on here with mental health, self identity, sexuality, addiction, religion, ethnicity, this book really had it all and I loved it. Gah. I almost can't wait for December for more people to be buzzing about this one.

Lots of laugh out loud funny moments but some really tearful introspective moments too. I actually literally laughed until I cried and then cried until I could laugh again. Love the alternating points of view and thought it all worked well for telling the story as a whole. Zach and Ruben process the world so differently and it was amazing to be seeing the story through their different perspectives. Would 10/10 read another book / continuation from Angel and Jon's POV's as well.

Definitely one of my favorite YA romances of the year so much stands out about this one. Truly can't wait to see this one burning up Bookstagram and BookTok later this year!

This is a fast paced novel that I would encourage high school students to read that are looking for a LGBTQ+ romance novel. The characters were relatable, despite being successful rockstars and musicians. The sub plot of another band mate struggling with addiction was important for high schools students to learn to address. The character’s showed how difficult dealing with feeling burned out is, which is relatable for busy high school students. Suitable for ages 16+.

Ok. Um. Wow. First off I want to say that I am absolutely BLOWN AWAY??????? I mean, I was hoping for greatness and boy did it deliver.

If I were reviewing vibes alone, it would be a 5/5. I mean, let’s be real I’m here for the vibes and the vibes only. I devoured this book in one day and felt emotionally wrecked after finishing it. Happiness, internal screaming, external screaming, crying, more screaming, and then after it all a general feeling of satisfaction. And then came the overwelming urge to reread it. Something about this book is so addictive, I never wanted it to end.

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I would have loved a bit more resolution. The ending wasn’t necessarily sudden by any means, but I could have used a bit more to wrap things up.

Building on to that, I would have liked for a couple of more fluffy moments. Given the circumstances, sure, get why it isn’t there. But I could have gone for a bit more high notes within the story. I think it could have upped the stakes of the relationship a touch more and made readers more invested. But then again, I was ridiculously invested either way sooo

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And lastly, but most certainly not least, the exploration of abuse within the music industry was really well done. Honestly, it is the foundation that holds the whole book together. Don’t let the gorgeous cover and promises of romance in the synopsis fool you, liquid emotion will be seeping out of your eye sockets by the end.

The whole plotline with the management conflict was handled with great depth. Seeing all the members of the band --- but especially Zach and Ruben --- grapple with their situation was truly heartbreaking. It was kind of like a new before seen, behind the scenes, exposed sort of energy to it that made the whole book really special.

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4.5 Y'all. This is a must read. Dual pov, the perfect balance of heartbreaking and hilarious, all while keeping you craving more of these loveable idiots. You know that you need it in your life.

This is one of the smartest, most entertaining, wittiest books I’ve read in a long time! Zach and Ruben are two members of the world’s biggest boyband, Saturday. Ruben’s been in love with Zach for a long time, but Zach’s straight and doesn’t reciprocate. When Zach kisses Ruben one night, everything changes.

One of my favorite things about this book is that it trusts the readers. A lot of the story is told subtlely, without the usual “and this is what’s happening and why” scenes that most YA books opt for. For this reason, I think of this book as almost new adult, along with the topics covered and the steamier feel.

Take Ruben, a character who knows he is gay. Talented and confident, he’s also the child of a narcissistic mother who he’s terrified to cross, and a father who doesn’t stick up for him. Paralleling Ruben’s relationship with his emotionally abusive mother, is his relationship with the band’s management team, mostly the head figure, Geoff. As a child who’s spent his life being controlled and emotionally abused, he has no skills to stand up to management when they tell him to be smaller, and plainer, and not share himself with the world. Throughout the story, he goes on a journey to start to learn how to insist upon his own agency—both with his parents, and with management. Without greater spoilers than that, I will say that as someone with an NPD parent, I thought the rep here was immaculate, and saw a lot of myself in Ruben’s dissonance: he knows who he is, but he’s especially vulnerable to abuse because he’s never been allowed to advocate for himself over an authority figure’s wishes.

The inverse of Ruben is Zach. If Ruben knows exactly who he is from the start, Zach’s issue is that he isn’t sure who he is, from his sexuality to his personality. Left by his father at a young age, he’s internalized the idea that he is only worth as much as he can give to others, so he spends his time trying to appease everyone around him. This, again, is subtlely conveyed through Zach’s action and dialogue. He’s often the last to speak, waiting to see what the rest of the room thinks and wants, before jumping in. It’s only as he starts to realize that this approach is costing him his own happiness (he wants to be a writer, loves different sort of music, realizes he is bisexual: all things that will “upset” those around him) that he goes through a transformation. The anxiety rep was wonderfully relatable here, and it’s easy as a reader to bond to Zach and want to bundle him up.
The relationship between Zach and Ruben is something beautiful to watch. As Ruben, confident in just who he is, helps Zach realize who HE is, and Zach, caring and patient, gives Ruben the reassurance that he will still be safe and loved if he pushes back against the rules placed on him. True soulmates that I can actually picture being together in the long run.

The two main side characters, Angel and Jon, are unbelievably thoroughly crafted! Most books, side characters are relegated to existing to help out the MCs, but these two have well-defined personalities, their own issues, their own arcs. Jon, Ruben’s friend prior to the band forming, is the biracial son of the band’s manager, is kind, reserved, a total worry-wort and sometimes a buzzkill, very religious and morally driven. He struggles between his relationship with his dad, who he’s afraid to stand up to, and with the rest of the band. Also, his dad has picked him to be the leader of the band, which goes hand-in-hand with sexualizing him, which the religious Jon is very uncomfortable with. This leads to some wonderful and subtle commentary about the sexualization of Black bodies, and how Black children are seen as adults (his own dad submits a shirtless photo of him to a world’s sexiest men magazine).

Then, Angel, who is far and above my favorite character, is loud, crass, always joking, and fun. If Jon is over-sexualized, Angel is stripped of his sexuality, as the management frames him as the boy-next-door role despite being the most attractive group member, and a huge ladies man in another example of management’s racism. This has devastating consequences for Angel, who lashes out after years of being minimized and stripped of his identity and name, which leads to one of the most powerful scenes in the whole book (IYKYK).

Finally, with the ending approaching, I was nervous we were going to get a bubblegum happy ending where everything was resolved. In real life, a lot of the things happening in the book happen to real celebrities (Taylor Swift, Kesha, Britney Spears, Lance Bass to name some), and I wasn’t sure how the book would handle this without minimizing the real struggles of real people who are struggling to get their happy endings years later. I needn’t have worried though! Without spoiling things, the book gives you just enough information to clearly know what is going to happen over the next year, without rushing the resolution. My only qualm here would be that I would’ve loved an epilogue so we could check in with the boys a year or two later. We didn’t get that, which makes me think / hope maybe there’s an unannounced sequel? This would make a lot of sense, because the book works well as is, but there's a lot of room for further resolution / drama.

Obviously I heartily recommend this story.

RATING: 4/5 STARS

The premise of this book was something I had never read before - two members of a boyband falling in love. It's fun as a fan to "ship" members together (One Direction and several K-pop bands come to mind). This book brought life to that imagination and fleshed it out in a creative and fun way with characters that are not imitations of any one real-life boyband member. Instead, Ruben and Zach are fully developed, individual characters, but they are relatable enough to remind you of traits of your favorite celebrities. The romance in this story was very sweet, but also incorporated struggles of the highly controlled and regulated existence that comes with fame. Overall, this was an enjoyable read. It was a compelling combination of lightheartedness and angst. Also loved the diversity.

A sincere thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Social: @_shelf.awareness on Instagram

I received an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you NetGalley!

I admit, I really liked this book and the behind-the-scenes look at the life of a boy band. It gave off vibes of a real-life group who have faced similar rumours in the past. I wish there was more of an ending than what I read.

It was…fine.

I did appreciate the exploration of anxiety and emotionally abusive parenting. And the contrast between Reuben knowing he’s gay but forced into the closet by producers (Ugh) vs Zach finally examining the bisexuality he’s been trying to ignore in himself.

Still, that wasn’t enough to keep me turning pages. The boy band drama just didn’t connect emotionally for me. I think someone has been part of the One Direction / BTS / boy band hype would enjoy this story, but to me the storyline was pretty bland.

I got this as an ARC from netgalley because I kept hearing about this. At first I thought it was going to be a lame wannabe "larry" fic (Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson from One Direction) but it is not! It is so much more than that. Take *NSYNC leaving Lou Pearlman and mix it with social media and boy bands of today (ok so mostly One Direction) and you have this book. I really, really liked it and it didn't just dive into "we have to keep our relationship a secret because management said so." but how Zach felt coming to terms with his sexuality. How the other band members felt, how it was to be in the band, etc.

It does use both Zach and Ruben's POVs and even though I finished this, I still got confused sometimes on who's chapter I was reading lol. But really this is a great book and highly recommend it!

This seemed a little cliche. All the characters just felt cliche and also their situation didn't seem very believable? I loved Sophie Gonzalez's other books, but this one didn't work for me. I just couldn't buy it. Like maybe one character getting being casted the wrong way, but every single member of the group was the opposite of the way they were portrayed? I don't know.
I mean, the writing was kind of addictive in a base way, but I felt myself rolling my eyes.
As for the romance, there definitely was chemistry though. Props for that.

"At the crux of it, everyone wants the world to see them as they are."

This isn't your fluffy pop teenage boy band story. The dark underside of high-profile music entertainment makes and appearance: dictator management teams, substance abuse, and the exhaustion that comes with non-stop touring for months.

TW: substance abuse, indirect homophobia, semi-forced outing, language, some sexual content (mostly off-screen, implied)

Throughout the book, we see Chorus Management take over more and more of the band members' lives as they tour through Europe. At one point, the tour they're on is equated to a pressure cooker, given the intensity and lack of freedom. We follow Zach and Ruben as they struggle through their sexual orientations, what it means for themselves and the band, and how they begin a fight for their freedom: of expression and of the ability to be themselves.

I loved this because Ruben and Zach represent two sides of a coin. Ruben knows what he wants (has since he was sixteen, when he first realized hes gay) and keeps pushing for it. He understands the doubletalk that Chorus Management speaks in thanks to his mom. He's angry and bitter and frustrated but can't push too far when it could result in the destruction of the band. Meanwhile, Zach is quiet, introspective, and the go-along guy. A textbook people-pleaser. He doesn't know what he wants anymore because his identity has been eroded by Chorus Management, replaced by the marketable version they created for him. Once he starts having options and revelations, he panics that this change could rip the band apart; thus he remains a step separated from what he wants.

The tension builds and builds until finally, it snaps. With near-devastating consequences.

My only disappointment came with the ending. It remained too open-ended for my liking. While there is a sense of hope (and a strong one at that), it didn't offer any epilogue with a "where are they now" or "one year later" with a final sense of closure. Otherwise, "If This Gets Out" is a stellar read.

I tore through this book in a little under 5 hours because I could not put it down! This story is told through the two main protagonists, who also happen to be the two love interests in question throughout the novel, and the authors do an incredible job at developing their every single one of the characters throughout the book through the lens of just the two of them. I pre-ordered a copy as soon as I finished reading, and I look forward to many more reads of this book in the future!

Over the years, the headlines have been ripe with tales of various boybands in the world and in the United States. This work follows the lives of four young men in a very successful boyband group. The horrible schedules, the fast pace, the isolation of the group, and the challenges they face are well documented. When one finally needs to come out to his bandmates as gay, it sets in motion a movement where the band finds its strength against the conservative, commercial establishment to whom the boys answered. Fun and effective writing that could have used an editor. The characters are all distinctive and well defined.

Thanks to Net Galley for this ebook in exchange for an unbiased review.

The combined forces of Sophie Gonzales and Cale Dietrich

When authors like Sophie Gonzales and Cale Dietrich join forces, the only thing you can expect is a great story!

If This Gets Out follows Ruben, Zach, Angel and Jon, the four members of the boy-band Saturday, as they embark on their first European tour. As days passed, Ruben and Zach’s friendship grows into something much deeper… a romantic relationship. As the two boys try to navigate their new reality, they will have to face a new set of challenges and pressures that could change everything and that will make them question what’s more important… living their lives as they want or stick to the roles they were given as part of Saturday.

But Ruben and Zach’s relationship is not the only thing we’ll find on this coming-of-age story! If This Gets Out shows us what lies beyond the spotlight… The shadows that linger on stages and music studios… The pressures and strict rules some young artists have to follow sometimes…

The situation that Ruben, Zach, Angel and Jon feels like something real… Something that could have happened to so many young artists that are forced to be in the spotlight under restrictive conditions… And that it probably happens to this day.

If This Gets Out is a story about finding yourself in spaces where you’re not the one in control…
It’s a story about finding the right people, the one that will stay with you through thick and thin and appreciate you for who you really are…
It’s a story about the dark side of the entertainment industry, that sometimes seems to value more the profits than the people who work on it…
It’s a story about finding the strength to stand for yourself and your priorities when others don’t treat you well…

It’s all that and so much more!!

Sophie Gonzales and Cale Dietrich have given life to these characters that feel like real people, characters that are full of heart and kindness despite the sometimes complicated things they face…

You’ll be rooting for Ruben, Zach, Angel and Jon as they travel Europe and find the truth about themselves, who they really are and what they really want.

Gonzales and Dietrich combined writing style flows seamlessly between Ruben and Zach’s points of view, and showing us how these two boys experience everything and see the world that surrounds them.

If This Gets Out is a book that will bring so many important conversations to the table… A book that shouldn’t be dismissed!!