I loved this book. It was everything I was hoping it would be and have already recommended it to friends for when it is published. As a fan of the 90s boy bands craze I loved this book even more and could see how the controlling nature of the management company could (and did) actually happen. I loved every member of Saturday and was rooting for Zach and Ruben's relationship the entire time.

There were a few grammatical errors that hopefully will be fixed before publication but nothing terrible

If This Gets Out is a fabulous young adult romance by Sophie Gonzales and Cale Dietrich.

Ruben and Zach are band members and long time friends. Zack is straight, until a kiss changes everything.

I love boy bands so this book definitely had me intrigued.

This is a sexual awakening as suddenly Zach is questioning his sexuality and dealing with his new feelings for his best friend.

Their tale includes the pitfalls of a boy band. Music they don't relate to. Being molded into a certain persona. Being the opposite of their public persona. Photo shoots. Fan signings. A troubled bandmember and drugs. I enjoy it all.

Their story is full of tension, awkwardness, chemistry and emotional first times, and fade to black scenes.

The writing is great, with two well developed characters and plenty of contributing side characters. The emotions are well explored and the story had me happy overall.

If This Gets Out is a great choice when you're in the mood for a boy band romance. These authors wonderfully bring the atmosphere surrounding this band to life, including all the troubling issues involved. I love all the feelings throughout.

An enjoyable sappy romance with hard hitting themes. If This Gets Out is a must read for any young queer

Ruben and Zack, both members of a booming boy band. But things are start to fall apart due to both management and tensen with some of the members.

(I was given this book as a ARC or Advanced Reader Copy given through NetGalley as an audiobook for an honest Review. All of these thoughts are mine and at no point was I pressured or swayed in my opinion)

This book comes out 07 Dec 2021. This is a LGBTQ Teen/YA

This book went above and beyond. 5/5 stars
I went into this book expecting a rom com about some boy band members. But what it gave me was so much more. This book gave me the the romance that I wanted, but it also went into some hard hitting themes that I wasn’t expecting. But these themes where all the more welcome. They added so much to the story, all the while being true to things that actually do go on in real life music industry.

You don’t have to be a boy band fan to give this book a read. Definitely recommend

The Band Members Of Saturday
Ruben, Zack, Angel, and Jon are all the members of the boy band, Saturday.

I thoroughly enjoyed all the characters in the band. Each had their own personality and quirks that made them who they are. All of them able to be distinguished from each other and reacting to the other characters differently.

Jon being more cautious, type A personality, Angel being more of a wild child, Zack being the more cautiously sweet type, and Ruben being the perfectionist. All of them fun to read and see how they interacted with each other in scenes and to the things that were happening around them.

Speaking of the things happening around them.

The Plot and the hard hitting themes.
The plot of this book is the boy band and management surrounding it.

I felt that this book portrayed boy bands and the politics around the music world that surrounds bands perfectly. While this book is a romance book (Which they did perfectly might I say. So cute I loved all of it) the things happening within the band due to outside forces of the music word kept me hooked.

They portrayed these real world things that happens to bands in the music world perfectly and tastefully. From fan bases, shipping, archetypes of band members, to controlled narrative of the band members. And most of all it portrays how this affects people within the industry.

All wrapped in a happy ending.

Give this book a Read if you like adorably awkward romance and hard hitting facts on the music industry
I myself will definitely be picking up my own physical copy of this book when it comes out in december so that I can have it in my hands and on my shelf. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with this book and will definitely be going back to this book in the near future. The perfect read from the romance and themes. All the way down to the side characters.

No aspect of this book I disliked.

this book is so much fun! it's every bit of the cute boyband romance you'd expect, but it also isn't afraid to tackle more of the serious topics like coming out/coming to terms with sexuality and the pressure of being forced to keep up a "straight" appearance while in public. i loved all 4 of the main characters so much and while i am a little bit biased because i'm a huge fan of all different kinds of bands and attend concerts all the time, i all around really enjoy the emotion and reality of a surreal situation that is brought to life.

pros:
- the relationships between all 4 of the band members is so much fun to read! they have hilarious interactions and go through all the ups and downs that people in close friendships do. the process of them working together through the unique pressures being put on each of them is handled well.
- i can feel zach's realization of his bisexuality in my soul. the struggle of figuring out who he is and what he wants in life despite being so young is something i connect with. i'm glad that realization is drawn out and fully explored rather than just briefly addressed.
- ruben and zach's relationship, while strained at times, felt natural and i love that they really stick together throughout everything they go through. (i do wish there was more anjon though!!)

cons:
- the ending fell flat for me and it feels like the wrap up is a little rushed. i just wish there was more!
- while i do love ruben and zach's relationship, i wish there were more romantic moments. i mean while it is pretty clear, they don't even say they love each other and i think it was just briefly mentioned in a thought. the amount of pressure put on them to stay quiet by their management team is a huge part of the story, but at times feels like it overpowers their romance.

thank you to netgalley as well as the authors and publisher for providing me an eARC copy of this book!

This book is everything anyone could ever want in a SLOW BURN romance. The eternal smile of a swooning love sick human walking through a desert type of romance. That romance that starts as butterflies in your stomach, shy smiles, secret glances, and leaves you screaming JUST LISS ALREADY!

But when that romance peaks at just the right time your left feeling like a melted pool of goo. The warmest, happiest pool of goo in the whole world.

This queer boyband romance is literally what my soul needed. The embodiment of LOVE IS LOVE IS LOVE IS LOVE! The truest most intimate most beautiful encapsulation of that perfect love we all hope we will find.

This book is for all romance readers. Not just queer romance readers but ALL readers! I can not wait for the physical copy to come out so I can buy it for my daughters and their schools and my friends and of course MYSELF!

Sophie Gonzales has done it again. In this dual-narrative co-authored by Cole Dietrich, we see two sides of a “coming-out” narrative, and how every person has their own experience. I loved both Ruben and Zach, and felt that they fit so well together, complementing each other in such a perfect way. Even the supporting characters were dynamic and had well-developed personalities. It’s rare to feel such a connection to so many characters in one book. The story itself was simple straight-forward, yet kept me engaged throughout. There were so many ups and downs, not only following a developing and heartwarming romance, but also diving deep into the reality of the “life-behind-the-scenes” of the pop-star lifestyle, and what those boys must sacrifice for their dreams. A must-read for everyone, but especially anyone who once loved (or admit it, still love) a boy-band and wondered if there was ever romance among the members!

This book blew me away. Coming out vs not, navigating first love and family relationships, managing stardom and the public, and figuring out what you want out of life are wrapped up in an untidy bow of what many public figures face on a daily basis.

I really enjoyed this book! It was a wonderful break from reading heavy material. I can picture this as a fabulous summer beach read, an escape from the hum drums or just to read because you love boy bands! I loved following the behind the scenes world of the band. Each guy has his own demons to work through and the struggles of trying to do it while the whole world is watching, living in a fish bowl. I would recommend this book to anyone that loves a good story. It was a lovely world to escape to for awhile.

This book was amazing! I loved how the characters were portrayed and the themes of this book! I look forward to reading more by Sophie in the future!

The story follows Ruben and Zach (plus two other band members) who are both members of a boy band. Ruben has openly come out as queer and has been forced by the record label to stay quiet about his sexuality. As Ruben and Zach realize their relationship is more than band mates-they risk their jobs and record deal if their secret gets out. This was a great quick read that I know my students will love.

This is maybe a bit closer to a 4.5 star read, but I have to give it a 5 purely because of how much it meant to me. I haven't felt this seen in such a long time and I didn't really expect it to be in a book about a boyband, but alas, it was. The bi rep in this book is absolutely fantastic and I related to so much to Zach's character and his discovery of his sexuality. I just really, really love the way it was handled and the way the story so delicately handled coming out. While Zach and Ruben were on different pages on how/when they wanted to come out, the narrative never pushed one over the other and it never had that trope where the "out" person forced the other one to come out so they weren't keeping a secret (although, neither characters were fully out at the beginning of the novel anyway).

I did find the miscommunication at the beginning of the novel a bit bothersome, but once they finally figured out what was going on between them, I really enjoyed the plot. I appreciated that the focus was not so much on the two of them getting together/romantic drama and instead was on critiquing the music industry for forcing artists to stay in the closet and was about the band's struggle with their management team. It was a totally different perspective on fame than I was expecting and I'm very appreciative of it! It was super interesting to me and made me really, really angry at times (for the right reasons! it's messed up!).

I absolutely adored how the book ended and I just...I don't have enough words to express how uplifting this book was while still being raw and honest and sad at times. I've never read a book by Cale Dietrich before (but may now), but I have read Sophie Gonzales's backlist and absolutely love her books and trust her to write the best bi rep in the world (though she did take on Ruben's character in this one and he's gay so kudos to Cale for the fantastic rep in Zach here).

Again, I cannot recommend this book enough. I feel like YA contemporaries are hit or miss for me lately, but this was such a hit for me. I absolutely adored it.

Thank you to Netgalley for giving me a arc of this book. Let me just say this was probably one of my favorite books of the year. I don’t want to give spoilers but I loved how the perspectives of the two main characters (Zach and Ruben) were clear, you could tell the difference between them easily and overall I really enjoyed the book and I recommended you read the their story when it comes out on December 7th. :)

Okay am I immediately rereading this book because I love it so much? Hell YES! Also spoiler free review!

As I’ve mentioned before, this book is like reading a fanfiction but 1000% better because its not a fanfic (though I would DIE if there was a fanfic or sequel or bonus chapter or something because heckkkk) I absolutely loved the friendships and music and DRAMA!! Though, I do wish there was more musicy stuff involved (would I die if all of Saturday’s songs came to life? Maybe? Very possibly? 😂 if I were given lyrics would I give songwriting a good hot go again? Also very possibly??)

I absolutely adore the writing style, it’s fun to read and the perfect mix of descriptive but not too prose-y, and also lots of comedy too!

I feel like this book is perfectly suited to me because I LOVE music and performing and touring and all the behind the scenes stuff about being in a band (if only our school ensembles were famous 😂) and it’s all the things I wanted in my life (thanks COVID for cancelling our trips 😭) so I found myself relating to a lot of it! And also a weird thing I loved about this book is the fact that if felt like it was never ending, because I definitely didn’t want it to end! I remember getting up to around 60% done, thinking I was almost at the end, but seeing I had more to go was the GREATEST feeling ever!

Maybe it’s the eBook phone style I’m not too used to, but probably the only criticism I have is that it took me far too long to remember who’s who, and who’s supposed to act like what and have what style and all that jazz. And also sometimes I had to go back and figure out who was narrating when 🙈

Anyways if you guys haven’t figured it out yet, 5 stars with a bonus twinkle! ✨

This book was magnificent. I actually ended up reading it two times before writing this review simply because I could not get enough of it. The plot was compelling, the romance adorable and yet still well-developed and multi-dimensional, and the characters were so lovable. I think this book will end up becoming one of favorites due to the fact that it is incredible and enduring - the exploitation of celebrities, specifically teenagers, is something that will forever effect society and be at the forefront of our minds due to our over saturation of celebrity gossip and culture. Then plot of this book reminded me very heavily of various celebrities’ careers and rumors about what happened to them behind scenes. I thought this book was very well-written, perfectly paced, and so funny and just plain enjoyable. I cannot wait to buy a copy of it when it comes out.

I received an ARC of this title from Net Galley, and I didn't expect the book to be as good as it is. The blurb led me to believe I'd be getting a very long One Direction fanfic with the Larry Stylinson names changed. But the co-authors created significant differences and, because they write well, it's an engaging read.

Of course, you can expect two of the band members to develop a deep romantic connection based on a long-term friendship. Of course, they get the HEA. Of course, these young men still struggle with their sexuality and what it means. Well, one of them does. Ruben is openly gay, out to everyone but the general public. He isn't ashamed nor is he particularly worried about the impact coming out will have on his career. It's management that keeps him in the glass closet. His best friend Zach is the one who experiences the process on the page. Zach learns that he's bisexual, a fact he likely would've continued to ignore or repress except that his feelings for his best friend force him to answer his questions about himself. He doesn't want to use his best friend for experimentation. He doesn't know if what he wants is what he wants to want. He overthinks. He under communicates. Ruben flails about trying to read Zach, and angst ensues. Ironically, it's the other two members of the band that fans have decided have something going on, yet neither of them are fazed by this. When Zach and Ruben do come out, their band mates are supportive as are most of the fans. It's management that doesn't seem to realize most of society has moved beyond stigma and needs a better read on the public.

Fans of Red, White, and Royal Blue will especially enjoy this book for the glimpses it provides into the esoteric world of fame and privilege, and the demands of that life. The "boys in the band" are late YA/ New Adult age, so I'd also categorize the novel as such; however, for older readers who grew up with NKTOB and 1D, there's appeal and relatability in the nostalgia. (I see you giving one of the LGBTQ characters the last name "Knight.") In fact, it's that nod to Jonathan Knight of NKOTB that drives home during this Pride month just how far acceptance has come. None of us dreamed back in the day that one of the New Kids could be gay. He was just shy or had an anxiety disorder. I don't think he was really out until middle age with new hits far behind him. This book shows what a difference thirty years can make in a society.

I really liked this book! The story was so fun to read! I really enjoyed the characters in the boy band and I thought this was a super cute book!

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 👀