The queer romance I didn't know I needed! For anyone who has ever fan-girled (or fan-boyed) over the latest boy band sensation, this YA romance will earn a place on your bookshelves.

I had trouble with this book; the writing wasn't for me and I kept stopping and starting, which made me lose track of the plot, simply because it couldn't hold my interest well, unfortunately.

If you ever shipped one direction band members with each other you need to read this book. This story is about two members of the mega successful band, Seven. Ruben is gay but has to hide it from fans to appear as the perfect teen boy heartthrob. Up until recently, Zach thought he was straight until he comes to the realization that Boys can give him butterflies to, especially Ruben. Beyond try to explore their relationship, they have to deal with corrupt management, stardom, and a friend who is headed down a dark path.
I enjoyed this book so so much! It was funny, serious, sweet, and realistic. Sophie Gonzales is one of those authors that just has such an authentic YA voice. Cale Dietrich adds a whole other dimension to this book, that I think really wraps the whole book together. Even though this book is about two pop superstars, the struggles they deal with internally and externally felt very real to the teen experience. This book is perfect for people who enjoyed Heartstopper by Alice Osman or Red White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuisition.

I feel like this book very accurately showed the struggle with sexuality and the pressure that you tend to put on yourself and the pressure from others as well. I stayed up all night reading this book and had an ache in my chest when it ended. I hope that any person who has and possibly is struggling with sexuality reads this because of how relatable and helpful I found it.

This book was great insight into what it might be like with the pressures of fame and first love. I thoroughly enjoyed all the feelings and fear of coming out for the first time

3.5 stars
Thanks NetGalley for the ARC. I don't have much to say about this book and I think I'm being pretty demanding, but I really enjoyed Only Mostly Devastated by Sophie Gonzales and If this Gets Out was good, but it didn't meet expectations. It reminded me of my time reading One direction fanfiction and I guess that was the problem, that is not my type of book anymore. The book is okay overall, it's easy to read, I liked some of the characters, and the plot is promising, but it wasn't as amazing as I was expecting. Ruben and Zach's relationship is really cute, and the end of the book made me pretty happy, but it wasn't a memorable read.
I feel that my opinion is unpopular and very personal regarding this book, and for other people it may be a 5/5. In general, I don't regret reading it, I quite liked it, and it was a very fast and fun book to read, I would recommend it.


Spanish-
Gracias NetGallery por el ARC. No tengo mucho que decir sobre este libro y croe que estoy siendo exígete, pero el otro libro de Sophie Gonzales me había gustado bastante y este estuvo bien, pero no alcanzo las expectativas. Me recordó a mi tiempo de leer fanfics de One direction y supongo que ese fue el problema, ya no es mi estilo de lectura. El libro está bien en general, es fácil de leer, me gustaron algunos de los personajes y la trama es prometedora, pero no me lleno. La relación de Ruben y Zach es bastante bonita, y el final de libro me dejó muy feliz, pero no fue una lectura memorable y ese es de los mayores problemas.
Siento que mi opinión es muy personal respecto a este libro y para otras personas puede ser un 5/5. En general no me arrepiento de leerlo, me gusto bastante y fue un libro muy rápido y divertido de leer, lo recomendaría.

Adorable, objectively readable, and just so much fun! I loved both Ruben and Zach, and the two POVs were very distinct. Sophie and Cale know exactly how to do this genre.

3.5-3.75 Stars
TW: Homophobia, drug use, enabling, Overwhelming pressure, mental health, eating disorder and control parent.

The premise of this book reminds me of several boy bands from my childhood that had to go through being held in the closet for most of their career. The turmoil, pain, and portrayal of issues within the music industry were genuine and human.

Seeing what happened to Angel is horrifying because it 100% happens to enable and push problems under the rug for artists to keep control over them and make them dependent on them, and this was very REAL!
I wish that we would have more inside into John's life because I feel like each boy had a great story to tell, and while I loved that, we got to see Zac and Ruben and the amount we saw of Angel. The poor boy was being pressured to have sex appeal and go against his comfort, and it felt so awful.

This story did a lot well, and I liked many of the parts, but it was very long, and some of it felt repetitive within the couple and their problems.

i listened to this audiobook and it was excellent. Love this One Direction fan fiction and how we take a deep dive on boy bands.

I really enjoyed this book. I have been in the mood for contemporary romance and this one didn't disappoint. I grew up in the age of boy bands so reading this was a lot of fun for me. I liked that each character had their own voice and dealt with their own struggles. The story touched on a lot of important themes related to sexuality, identity, religion, and drug addiction but it didn't feel dark in anyway. The storyline was well developed and blended each of these themes together very well. If I didn't know it was a co-authored book I would never have guessed because the story flowed so well together. I picked up the audiobook via the library and I would definitely recommend it to those who enjoy audiobook formats. The narration was well done.

I definitely recommend this one!

I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was a really interesting take on the behind-the-scenes of a band, and the romance was super cute. I liked the dual pov, and will always read the books that Sophie Gonzales releases. I do wish we had gotten some kind of epilogue, just to see where the boys and the band end up, but I really liked it.

IF THIS GETS OUT is a YA contemporary novel following Ruben and Zach - two boys in the biggest band of the US. After Ruben shares with Zach how smothered he feels about having to stay in the closet, and as the band goes on a European tour, the two of them slowly get closer. It follows the whole band's journey and explores a wide range of topics - coming out, the hardships of being in the closet due to pressure from management, being famous and all the great and ugly parts of it, friendships, and a lot more. It's definitely not a light-hearted sweet YA romance since some of those themes get really heavy, and it goes deep into the issues celebrities can face when they're queer and want to be in a relationship publically.

It took me a while to get fully invested in the story, and I think the pacing is off and the book a little too long. However, after a while, I got so invested in Ruben and Zach that I started crying at the end. I really like that the conflict is, for the most part, from the outside - it's definitely the "us against the world" trope, which I love in books. It was a little too painful and angsty for me at some points, and some of the things felt drawn out, so I didn't adore it as much as I hoped. I still really enjoyed it though, and I think it's a really well-written story with amazing, complex, loveable characters. I also feel like it's written realistically and it doesn't romanticize anything.

Overall, I enjoyed it and I recommend it if you'd like to read a queer YA contemporary following a famous boy band, that tackles lots of important issues, and has a strong romance and friendships.

Reminiscent of the very best fan fictions, you know, the ones that have you reading obsessively until 3am, this is an absolute joy! It's angsty, full of the classic tropes and just oh so good. I'm sure lots of readers will make links between the characters and members of much loved boybands but this works so well, even if you have never shipped any pairing before. It manages to balance romance with realism and had me rooting for all the characters.

A wonderful celebrity romance with a masterful dual pov. Really keep you on the edge of your seat. Loved the pace and the romance. Also, it was really character-driven which I love

I really enjoyed this!

It started off pretty slow for me—a lot of exposition before getting to the angst of the relationship. Once it was established that Zach did like Ruben, though, it picked up. I thought that the Ruben chapters were a bit stronger—Zach felt a little bit stilted in dialogue and his inner monologues (maybe a bit younger than I’d expect for his character)—but I they (the two authors’ writings) complimented each other well.

I didn’t love how passively Zach’s disordered was mentioned throughout the story. It’s never fleshed out or resolved, so it comes across like it’s just this normal thing, even though it’s not healthy.

I did love all of the pining, and the fact that there wasn’t a long drawn out miscommunication and breakup. The misunderstanding in the 3rd act made sense given the situation, and I thought it was resolved quickly enough that it wasn’t unrealistic and paired with a huge breakup.

Overall I really liked this! I read it while I was walking through town, which is when you know it’s good and you can’t put it down! 3.75 stars for me.

After reading the synopsis of If This Gets Out, I was so excited to dive right in. Honestly, one of the main reasons I picked up this book is because it totally reminds me of one of my favorite anime/manga series Given (so if you’re a fan of Given, you’ll love this book!)

I absolutely LOVED the writing. The dual POV is one of my favorites and this book is so full of ALL THE EMOTIONS.

This book delivers such a POWERFUL story of queer identities, and exploitation in the music industry in ways that will grip your heart. This is not just a simple secret love rom-com, this book is EVERYTHING.

I live for Zach and Ruben, but like I have a special place in my heart for Jon and Angel too. These characters, all of them, come alive right off the page. They are all so well developed and I want more of them.

By the time I finished If This Gets Out, I was an emotional mess. I had laughed, cried, shook, squealed- I felt all the emotions really. All of them. The joy though, the joy was so powerful.

This book has found its place among one of my top reads of 2021, and Sophie, Cale, if you read this…I won’t mind another book about our favorite boys. ;)

This came off a bit like fan fiction but was a solid YA coming of age book that dealt with some important issues. I listened to the audiobook which may have been a mistake because it was really hard to differentiate between our 2 POV's voices. They often times seemed like the same voice which made the story seem a bit underdeveloped. But overall a solid read.
I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book is insanely cute and heartbreaking, I love it! Makes you think about the public image of celebs too. I honestly would LOVE a followup to this book with where the boys are after that epic ending. Pleeeaassseeee!!!! I seriously would absolutely die if there was a sequel.

If This Gets Out was exactly what I wanted it to be. The perfect blend of romance and exploring the pressures and issues faced by someone in the boys’ position: pressure from their label, hiding their identities and relationship, the stress of touring and a sudden rise to fame.

If you know anything about my taste in books you know that characters are my favourite part of a book but also what I’m most critical of. They have to be done right. They have to feel fleshed out and real. And I’m pleased to say that If This Gets Out did not disappoint on that front. Each of our narrators, Zach and Ruben, had distinct voices and personalities that informed their decisions and interactions. The rest of the band, too, were given depth and I felt that this was what made the book work so well. The characters were given agency in a way that some celebrities such as themselves are not seen to have through their label and the fan perspective. This is explored in the novel through the label’s forcing of certain personality types on the boys, even when that directly contrasts their actual personalities and the rest of the world unknowingly accepting these lies. This overall made the boys and their problems feel all the more tangible and real, as if we were getting a peek into their real lives, behind the curtains.

On that note, I loved that this book didn’t shy away from showing the truth and criticising the music industry. It explored themes of drug abuse, manipulation, exploitation and forced closeting with sensitivity. In particular, I loved that the boys got to own their coming out and it brought me so much joy. Without giving too much away, seeing everything come together in the end was just so wonderful and I flew through the second half of the book in one sitting. I also appreciated that the boys acknowledged the privilege of their position at the same time as criticising it.

I just really enjoyed all four boys’ relationship with each other. The authors did a fantastic job of conveying a years long friendship and everything that goes with that, from a shared understanding and humour to knowing exactly how to hurt one another. In particular, I loved Ruben and Zach’s relationship. I am a sucker for characters being soft with one another, particularly when they’re in as harsh and difficult an environment as in the book. Reading about them falling in love was a joy. I loved the trust and support in their relationship, and the development they underwent together.

Overall, If This Gets Out combines some of my favourite things in a book: friendship, queer romance and angst into a wonderful coming of age story. It has boyband drama, criticisms of the music industry, commentary on fandom and so much more. I had an amazing time reading this and highly recommend it!

I freaking love Sophie Gonzales and I will never stop supporting her. This was delightful. The characters were so well written, I don't think I will ever get over them.