This was a cute, fun contemporary that I flew through easily and had a lot of fun reading!

Zach and Ruben are both amazing characters who're struggling with different things. I loved how well their personalities shone through and how different their POVs were and how I could easily distinguish among them!

I also enjoyed how the authors talked about the dark side of the music industry and addressed how queer artists are forced to hide their identity. I also liked seeing how the Record Company forced certain images onto the guy and how they were being told to follow certain diets/workout routines since the music industry can be really toxic although I do wish this could've been explored more.

I liked seeing how Zach was questioning his identity and seeing everything that happened in the past through a new lens and just trying to figure out who he was and not hurt Ruben in the process.

I also really liked the writing style and how easy the book was to read. It was fast paces and sucked you in right at the beginning and I ended up finishing it all in one night.

Sophie Gonzales crushes it again! And her new co-author also nailed it. Her books are always the perfect amount of YA for me, a grown adult lol. I loved the fandom of it all, the love story, it was so cute. Who doesn’t fantasize about celebrity dating culture? I have been won over on Gonzales since her Only Mostly Devastated days and I can’t wait to read more by her.

Life in the spotlight is hard enough, but to be in the spotlight at the peak of adolescence and just figuring out who you truly are, is on another level. Reuben and Zach are two members of the boy band Saturday who lead us through a story of love, friendship and discovery. An enigmatic story that is great for those who loved 'What if it's us' or 'The Music of What Happens.'

I absolutely loved this story. It was very well thought out and the character growth and development was great. Given the fact that the two main characters, even though they are in a boy band and have to give the outward appearance of being mature beyond their years, are still just young boys, the authors did an amazing job of portraying this with their self discovery and their trial, and missed communications. Also the portrayal of the life of a kid in a boy band was so real feeling. There were a few parts they read a little slow and seemed not necessary, but for the most part the book was a smooth read. I really enjoyed it.

**received an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review**

“The thing about your dreams coming true is that, for a gold-spun moment, you catch a glimpse of what life could be like for you.”

Oh where to do I start? Whenever I talk about this book, it just feels like I’m sucked into multiverses. I want to talk about how good it is, how sad it made me feel, how fun it was to be part of a fictional fandom and believing they were real, how I was rooting for every member of the band — ALL AT THE SAME TIME!

If This Gets Out by Sophie Gonzales and Cale Dietrich is one of my most anticipated queer releases for 2021, so when they made it available to everyone for a short span of time on NetGalley, you know that I have to strike and get my early copy! IT WAS AMAZING!

I have always imagined there’s a queer romance in my favorite boyband, and always thought of what it would feel if they let that secret out. It was a fun journey seeing Zuben conquer the odds! I loved how each character’s personality complemented each other. It made me root for all of them, regardless of what life threw at them. It made me believe that for one distinct moment, Saturday, the band, was real and I’m singing along with the crowd. That’s how precious that book is. It gives you a reality that would play around in your mind and you’d keep in your heart forever.

To top it all off, it also talks about mental health. It shows how people handle the pressures of fame, what they do to cope up and how they get past all the challenges society and their management gives them. You’d be cheering them on, shed tears with them and celebrate with them once they break through.

Okay, I’ll stop blabbering because there’s a 99% chance that I will spoil it if I don’t. Read this book if:

- You have always imagined your favorite boyband has a secret queer romance going on
- You want to stan for fictional boyband members while singing their songs at the top of your lungs
- You want to see how fame relates to mental health
- YOU JUST WANT TO FALL IN LOVE

PRE-ORDER “IF THIS GETS OUT” NOW! On sale on December 7th!

Thank you Sophie, Cale, and Wednesday Books for the early copy! I love you with all my Saturday heart!

This book deals with some very important topics which I was happy to see included but I felt it was a bit too long and boring in some areas and the writing fell somewhat flat for me.

I enjoyed the premise of the story; having to keep a relationship a secret and the whole boyband aspect. I always love to read about rich and famous lifestyles so I did enjoy that. I think the authors did a good job of tackling homophobia and control in the music industry and I felt that was very important to talk about. I also appreciated that they touched on AIDS and safe sex, as that is another important topic that is sometimes overlooked in books.

I didn't however love the writing. I often forgot which POV I was reading because they both sounded very similar. I found myself having to really force myself to read it because the relationships and characters overall were a bit boring and I didn't feel invested. Sadly I think the way the story was told was just not my favourite. I also thought the ending was okay but nothing spectacular.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the E-galley.

It's been a few days ever since I finished this book and I still don't want to write this review, because I *hate* giving one star reviews to books that are not out yet. But alas, here we are.

First of all, I wanna say that Sophie Gonzales was (and still is) one of my favourite authors; I have read two of her solo books and loved them both. This is why I have requested an ARC of If This Gets Out, even though I didn't like the book by Cale Dietrich I had previously read. I was hoping that their collab would make me change my mind, but obviously -- and sadly -- it did not happen.

Now, back in the day I read and absolutely loved I Was Born for This by Alice Oseman, and last year around this time I read and enjoyed Daisy Jones & The Six by TJR. So, I felt confident in saying I generally enjoyed band related books. Flash forward to 2021, when I read The Boyband Murder Mystery by Ava Eldred and this book, both of which I have rated 1 star. Maybe I don't like boyband books, except a few, after all. I don't know, I am not even particularly enjoying Given by Natsuki Kizu, which is a band related manga. So, you see, maybe the problem is me.

I had two major issues with this book. Or maybe three or four. But let's proceed with order.

1) The writing style; I usually love Sophie Gonzales writing, because I very much relate to her kind of humour, and while you could find some of her usual snark in this book, it felt flat overall. I think the authors tried not to show such a huge of a gap between the two POVs, but the result was that I couldn't empathise with the characters. Moreover, the dialogue in this book was so unrealistic and cringe I had to stop multiple times because I wanted to scream into the void until my lungs were numb. Anyways...

2) The pacing and disposition (?) of the plot points; I won't go into details to avoid spoiler, but... Have you ever written a fanfiction without plotting it before, just going with the flow? Because I have, and the way the key points of this book were placed felt very much like the authors just had a general idea, like 'Let's write a boyband book' and then proceeded writing things at random. The pathos, if you could call it that, was not there and the pacing was all over the place. Also it was *so* predictable I could have told you on page one what was going to happen. Also the book is so unnecessarily long, it could have worked with 200 pages less.

3) The characters; I didn't hate them all. I hated Zach with my whole heart, but I think it was more a problem of how his internal monologue and whatnot was written, because he was otherwise a pretty sterotypical, and I felt mostly indifferent towards the other band members and the staff and crew. They all fit into a stereotype and had like one or two characteristic max. The four band members were boring; one of the main point of the book is how management makes artists fit into categories to please the public, but the way they were portrayed on and off stage, in my opinion, defeated the whole purpose of the book, because they were easily categorisable even off stage. Take what they look like to the public, reverse that, and you have their personality: do they look sexy on stage? They are the opposite off stage. Do they only have easy notes on stage? They are actually the best and most trained singer of them all. As I said, boring.

4) The ending. Once again, without giving anything away and keeping in mind I had predicted the exact things that happened from the "plot twist" around the 70% mark until the very end... Really? Are you really giving us such a weak and boring ending? Wow.

So, I guess you can tell I hated this book. If you are interested in If This Gets Out I wouldn't stop you, because I didn't find anything problematic or offensive and it at least featured a diverse cast of characters, but if you are unsure whether to read this or not, just don't. I think some people will really like it, but unfortunately it wasn't for me.

Thanks so much to Netgalley and the publisher for this chance.

This was okay though it didn't blow me away. It felt quite middle of the road and I couldn't distinguish easily enough between the two narrators (though Zach was a lot more infuriating). There were some parts I really enjoyed but overall it fell a bit flat.

I was so looking forward to read this book! And I was not disappointed! The writing is just so good, the plot was interesting and the story surprised me. I really liked the romance part and I loved, loved, loved the characters. Their friendship is absolutely beautiful.
It was a very enjoyable read, but also very important. It touches so many hard subjects.
Can't wait for everyone to read and love it!

An adorable tale filled with great romantic moments, great dialogue and touching revelations.
I really enjoyed this book.

I'm about 56% of the way through this book. My girlfriend and I are slowly reading it out loud to each other. But I can honestly say this book is a 5/5 for me. I'll update my review if that changes for some reason. But I'm too impatient. I want to review it now because IT IS SO FLIPPING GOOD. The writing is amazing. The characters are fully fleshed out. The humour is great. The emotions are incredible.

It's definitely already one of my favourite books.

It’s giving Larry but that’s the whole point I guess. Enjoyable but not life changing. I liked the relationships. It’s the kind that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside. I would probably recommend.

I think this book is so much more than what it's being hyped up to be. And I get it. I have 3 daughters and they love One Direction plus one of them loves to read fanfic and is all about "Larry". So yes, I get if one of your first thoughts when you read the blurb would be to think about that. But this book it's about so much more than that.

YES, it is about a boyband. YES, there are romance elements in the story. YES, it involves LGBTQ characters.

But theres's also the the "Found family" aspect of the story. Ruben, Zack, Jon and Angel had been thrust into the limelight as teenagers, away from their families. Then they are forced to rely on each other and the friendship they have forged because their management team/record label has only cared about them as a business and not as individuals.

It's about the shady side of the entertainment industry. These boy have grown up in an unhealthy environment that doesn't allow for individualism. They have been labeled and put into boxes and forced to play a part at a time when they should be finding their true self. This, in turn, leads them to make rash decisions, act out and second-guess their needs and wants.

And of course, amid all this, there's Ruben and Zack's friendship blossoming into something more. Something they both want to explore. Something that can be life-changing, if only they were given the chance. Yes, their story was sweet and swoony and I loved them together. But what I enjoyed most about their story, was how their already-established connection grew into something deeper and more meaningful because of the obstacles they had to overcome. How they grew as individuals as the story progressed, how they made mistakes and how ultimately, they grew as a couple after everything was said and done. But I don't think any of that would have been possible if they weren't surrounded by their found family. Having Angel and Jon fighting along-side them made all the difference.

I also enjoyed the range in emotions, the camaraderie between the boys and the candid moments shared between them. In truth, I could have done without some of the added conflict that was thrown into the mix in regards to Ruben and Zack's miscommunication. I also thought that Ruben's mom's involvement was a bit "too little too late" there in the end, but Im glad he found his closure in regards to that.

Ultimately, for me, it was how the boys grew into themselves--becoming more assertive, facing their problems, understanding each other's needs and ultimately joining forces to make their careers what they want it to be--what the story was really about. How boys turn into men. How having a support system makes you a better individual and with them in your corner you can be the person you were meant to be--shy like Jon, flirty like Angel or a gay and out couple like Ruben and Zack.

All in all, a great story and an enjoyable read..

This was largely a cute read, and it definitely made me stop and think about what people in the entertainment industry have to deal with. I'd never really considered that people are forced to hide their sexuality in order to 'appeal' to the general public. For that factor alone I think it deserves three stars.

I really enjoyed the various characters in the band, and how wildly different they all were. The dual narrative worked pretty well, although I did have moments where I couldn't remember who was who until they made reference to specific things like their parents. There are a lot of serious subjects dealt with as well, which I wasn't expecting, but did enjoy.

My only criticism is that it read a little like One Direction fanfic, I've definitely seen people obsessing over those boys being in secret relationships with each other, so that made it little hard for me to take fully seriously. I did also get a little bored in the middle as things slowed down.

Generally though I think it's well worth a read, and can definitely imagine it appealing to those who are crazy fans of certain bands!

This was a really fun, quick read. I love the concept and I really got into the characters, including the other two band members. I think there was the potential to do more, but I'm very happy with how this book progressed and there were a few fun twists as well. Highly recommend, especially if you're a fan of this genre.

A sweet romance between two boys, a coming out , a coming of age story. It took the struggles of all young people to be themselves amidst pressure to conform and intensified it by making them public figures, member of a very popular boyband and being gay. It also explored other issues of drug use, adult manipulations. the characters were very likeable. My main problem was that it got bogged down at points with all the info about being in a popular band and those parts felt like too much/ not interesting after awhile. took from the main feels of the book

This was everything I was looking for in a book. Boy Band Romance at its finest! I loved following the boys and watching them grow. 5 stars!

I don’t think it would’ve been possible for a queer boy-band romance to be written any better. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can’t wait to read it again. The story had me hooked right from the first line and kept me captivated the entire time. I also thought that Sophie and Cale did an excellent job at co-writing this book. I honestly couldn’t tell at all that it was written by two people instead of one. It was seamless all the way through and overall I thought the writing was really well done.
I absolutely loved Ruben and Zach’s romance and would honestly love reading about them more in the future if that’s ever a possibility. I loved seeing how their relationship changed throughout the book from band-mates/best friends to something more. I loved seeing the moments they had together with the other members of the band, especially at the beginning, that were lighthearted and fun with lots of laughs. Yet I also loved the more intimate moments Ruben and Zach got just with each other both when they were still just friends, to confused feelings, to more. It was an interesting evolvement that was far from perfect, but that’s just the way life is and I liked seeing the honesty in that. It truly was a slow-burn romance but honestly I thought it worked really well. It can be a scary thing coming to terms with knowing you’re in love with your best friend, and it can be even harder if you haven’t fully come to terms with your sexuality yet. I thought seeing Zach struggle with repressing his sexuality in the beginning was valuable to read about as I think it something a lot of queer people can go through.
I really loved that this book was written from a behind the scenes of the music industry perspective. I find books more enjoyable when they are more realistic and honest about things we only usually get to see from the outside. The music industry isn’t all fun and games and this book proved just that. might be a bit strange to say but i liked seeing the music industry being shown as not perfect because that’s the real truth to it. It made it easy to sympathize with all four of the boys in the band as you could tell their job wasn’t the easiest. Because the harder side of been in a band was a main point of the book it definitely made it a bit of a heavier read, but I found that I really didn’t mind that this time. Often I have a harder time reading contemporary romances that are on the heavier side but the way this one was written still made it easy and enjoyable to read. It was also really interesting to read about all of the different family dynamics each of the four band members had. No two family dynamics were the same and it was interesting to read about what the parents thought about their children being in a band, especially when that band is travelling halfway across the world for a tour.
I was surprised by all of the topics that were covered throughout the book. Like I mentioned before it was a heavier read at times, not that I thought it was a bad thing whatsoever. These topics included drug and alcohol use, eating disorders, being overly controlled by a management team, and unhealthy family relationships. Ruben was being pressured by management to stay closeted and had been for multiple years. Angel (one of the other members) dealt with a lot of mental health issues throughout the book that definitely shook me at points. Despite the heavier topic I thought the book had a wonderful and happy ending. I was really happy with the outcome of the story.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

It was so good. So cute. If you’ve ever liked a boyband fan fiction or liked RWRB, you’ll enjoy this book.

Relationships, love, figuring out your sexuality, and band shenanigans.


TWings: homophobia, racial stereotypes, forced closeting, eating disorders, and drug abuse

I LOVED THIS BOOK. It made me get all the feels!
I had been dying to read this and when NetGalley gave me a copy, I was beyond happy.
This book reminded me of One Direction, and for that, I had to read it. It was everything I had wanted: romance, emotions, growing up and finding yourself. This might have been my favourite book of the year!!