This sounds so much like fanfiction you can't help but compare it to that.

However the book feels like fanfiction. And not in a good way. I expect a little more from a book than I do from fanfiction. At points this felt a lot like a string of one shots. Fluffy pieces that don't really give anything to the plot other than showing Zach and Ruben get closer to each other. I'd say that roughly the first third of this book sounded like fanfiction. Zach and Ruben were the only characters, the others were just names. Neither of them had anything, though. They had each other and that's it. There were no friends, no family, no one outside of the band. And not even any of their past was introduced, like how they became a band (it's not explained in too much detail) or even how the band got it's name. I think the beginning would've felt more like a book and less like fanfiction if there was a story behind these characters. In fanfiction you already know the characters, in books they're new people and there's really not much to say about who they are. It's not until later in the book there's more. The other band members are introduced to the reader, they hang out. I love that Zach's and Ruben's parents are so large pieces of the story, because whether you like it or not family does mean a lot, especially if you're closeted queer kid in a boy band everyone knows.

The beginning is what I have problems with. The rest of the book? SO GOOD. There's an actual plot! I love how the whole band is looking out for each other, I love how Ruben and Zach both have challenges and they help each other and grow as people. I love that not all of this is a romance. If anyone asks me, I ship Zach and Ruben.

All in all, this is a pretty good book. If I owned this I might even read it again someday when I wanted to get out of a reading slump and wanted something quick and easy to read.
I finished this at 2.30AM and I cried.
Someone might've heard me say I despise romance but love Red, White & Royal Blue. And this is going to that pile as well.

I devoured this in one evening. It felt like fanfiction, which is pretty much the highest compliment I can give, because nothing else keeps me up reading voraciously until 2am on a work night! Well-drawn characters, realistic dialogue, sensitive explorations of sexuality and identity, all set against the backdrop of a demanding boyband lifestyle that felt totally believable.

I did not expect to fall in love with all four primary characters as quickly as I did, but this goes to show how well fleshed out all the characters are. This feels like it was written about a real-life boy band. The growing relationship between Ruben and Zach is written incredibly well, and I found myself rooting for them all the way. I also loved seeing the life and struggles of Jon and Angel, who have been given just as much development time.

As others have said, this book is incredibly important, as it shines on a light on the treatment of people in the music industry, especially young queer people, and it doesn't flinch from that. There's a growing sense of claustrophobia throughout, and you experience that sensation with the band. The book also goes to some unexpectedly dark places, and I appreciate that.

I will definitely be buying this book when it comes out officially and I would reccomend everyone do the same.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for making this available to read early!

Honestly, they had me at “boyband romance”, and I was not disappointed. I stayed up til 5:00am because I had to know what these poor kids were gonna face next.

The characters were real and flawed and relatable. I loved all the boys for different reasons, and they all annoyed the hell out of me for *different* different reasons, as teenage boys are wont to do.

They did a great job balancing the romance and the hard stuff, and boy do they face some hard stuff. The adults in this book are really not great people, man. These kids deserve better!

Overall this was a hell of a lot of fun to read, and seeing Ruben and Zach overcome made me SUPER emotional many times.

Definitely one I’ll read again and again.

For boy band fans. Or haters. For fans secretly hoping for a love story between two bandmates. Or just fans of queer love stories.

I loved Only Mostly Devastated. I didn’t know what to think of The Friend Scheme. Perfect on Paper was nice. And If This Gets Out? It’s so good! On the surface, the story feels like a light and fluffy read, following a boy band on their tour through Europe, where two band members fall in love with each other. It could be just an in-between. A sweet rom-com. A beach read. A cheesy YA. But it’s not. There’s so much going on between the lines, and If This Gets Out tackles so many important topics.

I never liked boy bands. The smooth, too perfect faces. The polished, clean music. The hysterical fans. Archetypes like the bad boy, the boy next door etc. Having to be mass-appealing. The entourage. Until one of the band members suddenly falls off their pedestal. Hard ...

And that’s just what this story is about. Everything in the lives of Ruben, Zack, Jon and Angel is arranged. How they should look, what music they should sing, which moves they should make, what they should say. And coming out to the outside world is not an option.

So, even though he’s out, Ruben is hiding that he’s gay. And when Zack starts doubting his sexuality, he’s got no one to talk to. And when the two of them end up together, nobody outside their bubble can know.

This story is not only about two queer boys in a boy band. It’s also about the band itself, the pressure from their management and record company, even from some parents. Living in hotel rooms day after day, not having free time—like ever, being told what to wear—not their choice, being monitored—continuously, the tabloids making things up—or not. Pressure, pressure and more pressure. And let’s face it, they’re still just eighteen-year-olds.

Cale Dietrich and Sophie Gonzales did a wonderful job showing us the world of boy bands and in general the exploit in the music industry. Is it weird that cracks start to form in nearly all boy bands, including Saturday? Eating disorders, feeling suffocated, drug and alcohol abuse, anger issues, extreme fatigue. It’s almost inevitable that one on them falls of their pedestal in the end, right?

Like I said above, I loved the book and I really, really hope Cale Dietrich and Sophie Gonzales will collaborate in a second book. Because I think they bring out the best in each other!

I am giving this book 5 stars because I had a fantastic time cover to cover. The writing was just to my taste. The plot progression was a decent speed, it had moments when I physically felt the emotions the characters gave off, and it met the expectations I had for it. I loved the MCs, I loved the relationship the band had with each other, and I loved the band as a whole.
I think that this book is really getting hyped up right now, and eventually it will be overhyped despite the fact that is is truly a good YA self-discovery/romance. However, with the pub date being so far away, I think it was an excellent move to allow people to read and review now, which then gives the book time to settle while any kinks get worked out before it all ramps up with a creative preorder campaign. I will certainly be purchasing this book when December comes.

I really, thoroughly enjoyed this book. The characters were all well-rounded and complicated, they had their flaws, they had their vices, they have their good qualities and their bad. My favourite, particularly, was Zach. I think he really grew into his own confidence and worked on being more assertive and less with the people pleasing as the story progressed, and I was really happy for him when he was able to stand up for himself and say what he wanted. I also well and truly adored Angel; his struggle was very realistic, and something many people in the spotlight go through as a way to feel something and cope with their heavy schedules and expectations. His frustration, his want to be himself and live the way he wanted was very relatable, and I wish he hadn’t had to get to the point he did for management to actually take action and get him some help.

I also think this book does an incredible job on criticising and commenting on the narrative of how destructive and toxic the music industry, or any industry within the spotlight, can be. How much fame can be like a cage, especially when you’re forced into narrow little boxes and don’t get to be yourself, or tell the world the things about you, that you want to share, to simply be yourself. It’s heartbreaking to think about how many really bands, and people in the spotlight, go through something of that ilk; being forced to be someone else so they can be likeable, to pretend to be who they’re not. It is why so many people turn to alcohol and drugs to cope, to feel some freedom from the pressure and expectations. I certainly think we as a society need to change the way that we think about celebrities, and I think the industries need to stop forcing their artists to be people they’re not. It shouldn’t just be about the money, it should be about the people involved, about their lives too, and the freedom to live them as they choose.

The romance was also super sweet, the way that one of them went from being super sure he was straight, to questioning, to coming to terms with his bisexuality and realising all the times he did very queer things without realising was very realistic and relatable.

I really went through a whole rollercoaster of emotions with this book; I laughed, I cried, I got so incredibly stressed!! It really put me through it!!

Also, I really loved the way that it ended on an open and hopeful note, it was perfect for the story and left it to the reader to imagine how it continued.

I’m excited for when this is actually released in December, and so happy I got the chance to read an ARC as it was one of my most anticipated reads of the year, and it lived up to it!! Thank you Netgalley, and y’all should go preorder this book!!

ps stories with bands can exist w/o being compared to fanfiction y’all thanks

I'm a big fan of a certain boyband with fans that are notorious for shipping two of the members, so when I read the synopsis I knew I had to read this. I have also read Sophie Gonzales and Cale Dietrich's previous books so I was very interested to read this.

Saturday is a boyband consisting of four teenagers; Ruben, Zach Jon and Angel. They all fit into certain boyband tropes. Zach is he bad boy, Jon & Ruben is the heart throbs and Angel is the smol bean, innocent one. The book is told in the point of view of Ruben and Zach. Ruben is gay and is out to everyone except the entire world. Zach is discovering his own sexuality while the band is touring Europe right after touring the United States. Their management and record label controls everything, down to their cut. After spending the night together, Zach and Ruden grow distant and confused which other which adds onto everything the band is already dealing with, their rumors, tension between the guys who are truly best friends and the every growing concern that the rest of the band has for Angel who has been getting a little too wild with drinking and other substances.

While Saturday is NOT One Direction, this book will definitely appeal to fans of theirs and other similar bands. None of the members are carbon copies of any real life person. A super enjoyable read. The amount of research that Sophie and Cale did about the music industry shows as well.

Review to be posted on blog and goodreads closer to publication date.

"If This Gets Out" is a great story with characters I cared about when I read the book. All four of the bandmates had their own distinct voices and personalities, and each learns a valuable lesson about themself and each other over the course of the story. The love story is believable for the young men that this story centers around. I want to know more about what happens!

I saw this book was available to Read Now and jumped on it and I am so glad I did!!! I read this in one sitting (rip my uni) and was absolutely captivated by the four boys. The way each of them was fleshed out and their interactions with the label represented different ways you could be trapped. A couple of things weren't as resolved as I would typicaĺly like, but I think it strengthens the book and its characters by making it clear they would live on and continue growing etc. Had high hopes and it did not disappoint !

If This Gets Out is a queer boyband romance about Ruben and Zach, two singers in Saturday, and their best friends and band matesJon and Angel. Ruben has been forced to stay closeted by his management and is shoved into the background in order to keep him from 'standing out' and Zach doesn't really know what he wants or who he likes, he just wants everyone to be happy. But when one confusing night turns into a romance and then a relationship, their management wants to keep it on the downlow, keeping things amicable becomes harder.

This book suprised me. Which is saying a lot, because I knew I was going to like it, maybe even love it. It exceeded my expectations and then some more. I laughed, I nearly cried several times and I have never related more to a character than I did to Ruben; I fell in love with his voice and his character almost immediately. It took a bit longer to warm up to Zach, but after a couple of chapters I understood his voice and grew to love him as well.

Let's just say that this book is a RIDE. Like, Goliath-level. It appeased my inner drama-queen and at the same time I just wished the boys of Saturday could have some peace (which they don't get, obviously, thanks to the constant pressure, an oppressive management and toxic family dynamics). I also thought the fan-artist dynamics were very positive, much like the BTS ARMY. I think that if you're a BTS fan (or are/ was a fan of any boyband) you'll find enjoyment in this story.

The only critique I have, is that the description of the book covers almost the entire story. Yes, there are side-stories and some in depth parts that you'll only read on the page, but if you want to be more suprised, you might want to skip reading the synopsis and dive in blindly.

I'd recommend this book to readers who've also enjoyed previous works by the authors of ITGO and fans of Alice Oseman (especially I Was Born For This and Radio Silence), Emma Mills, Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera (especially What If It's Us).

This book is a super quick read, but it is so fun. I mean this in the best way possible - it reads like a ban au fan fiction. It deals with some heavier topics, like anxiety, difficult parental relationships, and drug addiction, but the book manages to keep its tone and story fairly light, while not being flippant. If This Gets Out is a super fun rom-com, and I highly recommend it.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the early review copy.

If This Gets Out had my emotions all over the place and I wasn’t sure where my rating would fall until the final 20%.

The writing, itself, is fantastic! It’s quick and witty, the voices are distinct, and the plot moves along really well. The characters are well developed and I really feel for them for a variety of reasons.

I loved that they tackled some serious issues through the Characters - particularly Angel and Jon. We always hear about the inherent dangers and risks for young celebrities, but to see it unfold and to have the management company reactions and the sense of helplessness displayed by other bandmates was moving. It was also refreshing to see them tackle the harm and self-esteem issues that come from the demand for increased sex-appeal, and to see how it affects a young man.

I had a few issues at first with one of the protagonists, but my concerns are eased as the book moves forward and we start to understand his anxiety, and the overall focus on mental health issues, I really came to appreciate all four of the main characters.

I felt a lot of anxiety and downright outrage at how the boys were treated as the novel progressed, and the authors really should be applauded for how well they slowly introduced the abuse from the management company into the story to mimic the slow realisation experienced by the boys themselves.

This was an excellent read, with engaging characters, plenty of ups and downs emotionally, and a really realistic look at some serious issues in the music industry that too often get glossed over in the real world. 4.5/5

This was an ARC that i received in exchange for an honest review.

Oh WOW! Alright, so I am so happy that I read this book because I loved it more than I had ever expected.
I mean I had high ezpectations for this mostly because I had already read and loved Only Mostly Devastated by Sophie Gonzales, so I was almost sure that I was gonna like this.
The story is about two boys, Ruben and Zach that are best friends (and couldn't be more opposite) and fall for each other while also being members of a super famous boy band called Saturday. The story follows them as they navigate their relationship through publicity, media, discovering their sexuality and identity, and all the other obstacles that come in their path.
The story is told from two main point of views- Ruben and Zach, the two members of the band, and we alternate between their perspectives.

The fantastic thing about the book is not the romance, although the chemistry between the characters is super cute, but what really sold it for me was the realistic and rawness of all of it.
Sophie Gonzalez really focuses on the pressure and sacrifices you have to make to be famous. I was amazed as to how truly invested I was even in the side characters' lives.
Even when the book ended I wanted to keep going to somehow find a way to spend more time with the characters.

They are a fairly popular boy band on their first International Tour and Gonzalez really shows us a clear picture of the intense lifestyle of celebrities, all the hoops they have to jump through, all the compromises they have to make, and how little of their true selves they are allowed to show to the world.
Also, the writing is so immersive, with just the right amount of angst to build up the tension, and you are so in tune with the characters that if there is a scene where the band is rehearsing a dance number and they are exhausted to the bone, you feel it with them.
The characters are in a very competitive environment with jam-packed schedules, so they are quite a few scenes of them just doing shows doing interviews training and reversing and to be honest I kind of like seeing that sequence.

It brings up so many themes like sexuality, identity, substance abuse and creative freedom in the music industry.

And the weirdest thing is while I was reading this, I kept comparing it to BTS in my head even though there was nothing Korean about it. I guess it could be because I associated BTS with this other boy band that also had such a great chemistry and genuinity (if that's even a word 😅) between the members. Maybe? I guess??
But what I am sure about is that if you are a fan of boy bands and cute romances, you'll definitely want to check this out.
And maybe vibe to a few K-pop songs while you're reading just to enhance the experience.

Rep: bisexual, gay, asian (side character)

TWs: homophobia, forced closeting, parental abuse/neglect, drug abuse, car accident

I REALLY liked this book! The plot summary is *very* reminiscent of Larry Stylinson, so I was a little bit hesitant going in that it was going to read like a creepy fan fiction, but the actual book isn't reminiscent of One Direction in the least.

This book is equal parts contemporary romance and thriller. As the four members of Saturday lose their freedom more and more to their fascist label, the characters take desperate measures, great risks, and feel extreme emotions that will keep the readers hooked and on the edge of their seats. The "can't put down" factor of this book is ASTRONOMICAL. I read it all in 12 hours.

The main relationship, Zach and Ruben, did get a bit... generic and boring once their romance settled about halfway through the book, but their sweetness factor kept me engaged and rooting for them. THIS NEXT SENTENCE IS A BIT OF A SPOILER: I was very scared that this book was going to have an outing storyline of the main couple, as books about famous LGBTQ people almost always have, so my relief when the characters didn't get that right stripped away from them was perhaps my favorite thing about this book.

The book respectfully deals with really hard topics such as drug abuse and addiction, and how the entertainment industry enables it. One element that adds a lot to the thriller aspect of the book is how one of the main band members experiences struggles with hard substance use and addiction, and how the racism he experiences from the industry also ties into his issues. Issues such as the label not considering him "attractive enough" because he was Asian were, in my opinion, handled really well.

I love how this book isn't formulaic in the typical way a YA book is. It tells a more unique story that is reminiscent of so many bands and musicians who got famous at a young age and how that affects them as people. If This Gets Out is a beautiful novel that shows depictions of forced closeting, class struggles, parental abuse and drug addiction all while managing perfect pacing, respect, and astronomical engagement levels for the viewers.

This book dived deep into what celebrities' and the entertainment industry does to people. It shines the light to give you a glimpse into why so many have "beards" or when they do come out its a big deal; as most people are forced to stay "in the closet" where most people assume they are queer but its never a concrete answer because they are controlled in every moment of their life. It was a good read and loved the boy's story. It was realistic and really allowed you to see them as individual characters instead of how some books where the mains almost become one character towards the end. They grew together but didn't loose their self in the process.

Wow! I genuinely enjoyed this book so much. The characters were incredibly charismatic and yet relatable and the love story was so sweet! I feel like this was a very interesting and yet important story to tell. Cale & Sophie did a wonderful job writing a very interesting, romantic story about two boys at the top of the world scared to look down. GGS.

I was unbelievably happy to get approved for this title, as it’s been on my radar for ages. I would read anything Sophie Gonzales writes! I loved the whole cast of characters and how diverse and realistic they all are, and their dynamics with each other.

Thank you netgalley for providing me an arc in exchange for an honest review. I absolutely loved this book! It has everything I love in a book and I love the characters and the plot. I also love the diversity and representation this books has. The only criticism I have is that one of the main characters has an eating disorder and towards the end it gets kind of ignored and seems to go away by itself, which obviously is not very realistic. Other than that, I absolutely loved it. I gave it 4/5 stars.

DNF I found the characters unrealistic and bland. Really great concept but the delivery just wasn't there for me.