Did I keep thinking that this felt inspired by every fanfic of Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson ever written? Yes. Did I hate it? NO. I LOVED this book. It was super long, but I really enjoyed it! And I love that the homework was clearly done to show how controlling the music industry can be of an artist’s image. I didn’t LOVE the fade to black moments because I wanted them to KEEP THE DAMN LIGHTS ON, but it was all just so, so good! Give lance Bass his love stories!

I just loved this book, and by the end I had such an incredible attachment to all of the characters. Did it make me cry? Maybe. Did it make my heart swell? Absolutely.

Ruben Montez and Zach Knight are both 18 and members of Saturday, a super-popular boy band. Ruben and Zach have always been friends, but when they go on tour through Europe their friendship starts to grow into something else. They’re under a huge amount of stress, especially with how young they are. Plus their management team doesn’t seem to have their best interests at heart, at all, despite what they keep telling them. Things start to go pretty sideways and actually get extremely dangerous at one point. There are untreated mental health issues, substance abuse, manipulation and more. These guys do not have it easy. At least they have each other, no matter what.

I know this is a work of fiction but I’m willing to bet that it’s based on some true experiences or situations and that a lot of young performers may find themselves in similar situations. Despite all the hardships this was a beautifully told story with wonderful characters and if you haven’t read it yet you absolutely should.

The audio is wonderfully performed by Ramon de Ocampo and comes in at just under 13 hours. You might recognize his voice from Red, White and Royal Blue!

As a huge boy band fan, I was so so so excited to get to review an ALC of If This Gets Out.

If This Gets Out combines what it’s like to live the spotlight as a young music star with the struggle of finding and accepting your sexuality. The story revolves around Saturday, a 4-member boy band: Ruben, Zach, Angel, and Jon. Each member has their own storyline: Angel struggles with alcohol and drugs, Jon is struggling with his relationship with his father, who doubles as the band’s manager, but the main storyline is the romance between Ruben and Zach. Ruben has been out as gay in his personal life for some time, but has been forced by band management to hide his sexuality. Zach has only had girlfriends, but has had crushes on guys for some time. As the Eurpoean leg of the band’s tour progresses, Ruben and Zach, best friends, feel their relationship start to change. One night they kiss, and the two most figure out if this friendship is turning into something more. Zach knows he likes Ruban, but can he tell Ruban how he feels? If they start to see each other, will they tell the band? The world?

I loved each member of Saturday and enjoyed looking behind the curtain of life in the public eye. This was heartfelt and fun. I was fangirling over Saturday. The internal struggles of the characters felt real, and I was rooting for them all to succeed.


Side note for the audiobook narration: I would have preferred two narrators to go along with the dual POV. Having a single voice for two different characters made it hard to remember which character POV we were in since it alternated with the chapter.

TW: drug/alcohol abuse, homophobia, disordered eating, forced closeting, strained relationships with parents

As a Bi man, I didn’t feel particularly affirmed by this book. I feel really peaceful in my orientation. So I just felt that there was so much unnecessary angst. It just felt tedious.

That said, if you also felt this level of angst, I could see how this book would make you feel seen. I gave it three stars because I think your subjective point of view could significantly affect the perceived quality of this book.

“Everyone wants the world to see them as they are. The truth isn’t the problem. The problem is that the world doesn’t always make the truth safe for us to share.”

IF THIS GETS OUT is a young adult romance about two members of a boy band who fall for each other, and also an intense and insightful story that delves into identity, mental health, and fame. Zach and Ruben are half of Saturday, a massively famous pop band run by a controlling management group that dictates each member’s public persona. While on tour in Europe, the two friends grow even closer, pushing them to confront their managers and lean on their fanbase as they fight for the love story they deserve.

There’s so much to love about this book. It’s fast-paced, romantic, and emotional, keeping you on the edge of your seat the entire time. I’ve read several other books from Gonzales and Dietrich, all of which I loved, and they work so well together with this one. While the plot is exciting in and of itself, the execution is flawless and adds so much depth to what is already a thrilling and heart-bursting narrative. The boys are dealing with anxiety, harmful parenting, and the incredible stressors of their level of fame, all while dealing with coming out and crushes and friendship conflicts. I was really happy to see the inclusion of therapy and coping skills actively in the story and I love how the friendships between all four band members evolve. The character development for both narrators is very compelling: for Zach, learning to figure out what he wants for himself, not just what everyone else wants, and to be more assertive about his needs and desires; and for Ruben, learning to stand up to his mom’s toxic treatment of him and to demand what’s he’s wanted for so long from their managers. I adored the romance between Zach and Ruben: they always had a closeness; Ruben’s attracted to Zach but thinks he’s straight; Zach’s always been “protective” (aka jealous) of Ruben dating; and when they finally start a relationship there’s so much depth, knowledge, and care since they’ve been close friends for so long.

A big chunk of this book deals with Zach figuring out he’s bi, connecting the dots between his current feelings and past desires he’s suppressed, and working up the courage to come out. Gonzales and Dietrich strikingly capture his internal experience, the absolute mindfuck of sorting through “do I wanna date them or be them” to arrive at bisexuality in a monosexist and homophobic world. I could relate to so much of what Zach goes through (though the closest I’ve come to musical fame is playing percussion for the church band, lol). Overall this story had so much meaning because Zach and Ruben’s coming out isn’t just for them, but for all the queer kids who will see themselves represented on a such a massive scale. And given the prevalence of shipping and fanfic about actual boy bands, the hunger for this kind of story, for this kind of representation, is all too real. It’s an incredible book and I’m so glad we all get to read it. Thanks to Wednesday Books for the eARC!

Content warnings: diet culture talk (working out & food restriction for weight loss/maintenance), homophobia, forced closeting

Always grateful for the opportunity to read advanced copies through NetGalley.

Kuddos to the audiobook performer- very clear and loved the voice overall.

I thought it was a good book. I wanted to like it more. I think there is definitely a market for it and will do well in the YA realm, I know its one my GSA club kids would want to read and would enjoy. I'm not a huge fan of celebrity tropes, but the characters were cute and I enjoyed the development. Beginning was a bit long and boring to get through so I would need to encourage readers to push through if they wanted to DNF.

3 stars. This just fell flat compared to Gonzales other work in my opinion. I found both MCs to be un likeable and annoying at times

THIS BOOK. I put off reading If This Gets Out because I anticipated it would be heavy on the boy band narrative and a little cheesy, but I was wrong. Though the romance itself in this book wasn't my all-time favorite, this is a fascinating look at forced closeting and PR relationships in the music industry. Gonzales and Dietrich did an excellent job of creating a character who is questioning sexuality/ understanding his own bisexuality in the face of internalized homophobia.

Other tough issues like addiction, family relationships, and the loss of privacy that comes along with fame were also discussed with varying levels of success. I thought the overall attitude about the music industry only caring about issues once they become a PR concern was honest but disheartening, especially given the age of the characters here.

I listened to this on audio, and thought I think Ramon de Ocampo did an overall good job, I had two specific issues that impacted my experience listening to this book. I think the narrative voices between Ruben and Zach's characters lacked distinction, and the narrator's handing of these two characters was similar enough that it was often difficult to ascertain which of the dual POVs we were listening to without context. I also thought that the narrator's voice skewed a little old/deep compared to the characters and storyline.

Overall, I highly recommend this one, but personally preferred it in print.

I enjoyed this audiobook more than I initially thought I would. Audiobooks are not my usual form of reading but I love Sophie Gonzales and so i thought I would give it a try. The narrator was good, though some of the accents almost had me giggling. The story was cute and had some touching moments. It took me a minute to feel like I actually got to know the characters and I wish that there were more side characters. I feel like this made the story a little flat. But overall the plot was good, the romance was cute and very PG, and I found myself rooting for the boys in a band called Saturday to be their best selves. Would recommend this book to customers for sure.

I will pick up any Sophie Gonzales book without hesitation now. She has cemented a spot as one of my favorite and most anticipated authors to read. I have never read anything from Cale Dietrich before, but I am eager to see what he has written.

This story is so detailed. There is so much depth to each of the characters and there was a lot happening. There was one moment in the middle of the story that did lag a bit but that ending was wonderful.

As for the audiobook aspect. I really enjoyed the way the narrator portrayed the characters in the story. My only complaint is how Angel was portrayed. To me, he sounded like Bullwinkle and I could not wrap my head around any other image than Bullwinkle being in a boy group (I wouldn’t put it past him, honestly).

I so wanted to like this one because I'm a huge fan of celebrity romances but as I kept getting further into this one, I just could not find myself caring about the characters or what might happen. I couldn't see a romance blossoming between the two characters and the names of things just felt ridiculous. Maybe if things were more realistically named and the focus had been more on the band environment I might have had better luck, unfortunately this one was a miss for me.

As for the audiobook itself, I think I've heard this narrator before and enjoyed their work. Unfortunately, this was not enough to keep me engaged.

The story was very cute. It was a bit long for what the story was and could have been edited a bit more but I think people will enjoy it.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, Macmillan Young Listeners, Wednesday Books, Sophie Gonzales, Cale Dietrich, and Ramon de Ocampo (narrator) for the opportunity to listen to the audiobook of If This Gets Out in exchange for an honest review.

Ruben, Zach, Angel, and Jon make up the boy band Saturday. Their band agents control their public image, including social media and interview appearances, to ensure the boys remain marketable. If one had a girlfriend, they'd surely lose some of their female fanbase. Or if one had a boyfriend for that matter...

As a band, they try to develop a string friendship, but as they learn in showbiz, anyone is replaceable, especially if something occurs that might lose the agents money. On their European tour, Zach and Ruben find solace in each other, already having a pretty strong friendship, but when one makes a move, the friendship could be at risk. Or turn into a very real romance!

With their management team wanting their sexual orientation to remain a secret, Ruben and Zach feel the pressures of being global music stars going against who they are. They must meet in secret and keep their feelings for each other hidden from the world. Because what would happen to the band if their relationship were made public?

Similar to the fanbase of the plot, this novel is perfect for readers who adore boy bands and have their own boy band fantasies. This novel also dives in to the major topic of coming out. While coming out should be someone's individual choice, the circumstance that the characters are in forces them to keep their true selves a secret. Coming out is challenging enough as it is, but when an agency values money and public appearance over what a person feels they need to do for themselves, it is rather dehumanizing, as previously pointed out that, when it comes to making money, people are expendable and replaceable. A sad message from the novel that resonates true with society today, but also demonstrates the power people have to stand up for themselves and what they believe in to be the person they know themselves to be. A great novel, to be sure. Fun, enjoyable, and full of powerful messages for a young audience.

Audiobook Review:
Overall – 5
Performance – 5
Story – 5
PG – only off page sex

The audiobook performer is fantastic!

I enjoyed this book a lot; it’s my first book from these authors. I requested a review copy of the ebook from NetGalley and then when I found out that the audiobook was also available from there, I requested a copy of it.

Ramon de Ocampo did a FANTASTIC job with this book. He truly gave a wonderful performance of this story; it wouldn’t be right to call him just a narrator. I’m fairly certain that I wouldn’t have liked the book as much if I’d read it with my eyes. Ramon put such emotion into the story and each character had their own distinctive voice. I can’t say enough good things about his performance. He is actually the reason I requested a review copy.

This is definitely a YA story; there is no on-page sexual content. I often find it more titillating when I have to use my own imagination and have found several YA/NA stories that I really enjoyed. The blurb gives you an excellent overview of the story. Something it doesn’t say is how controlling the band’s management company is. They keep the band members pretty much locked up after some shenanigans go on.

There are some pretty awful adult characters in this story. The management company definitely but also some of the parents are pretty horrible. The story ends with an HFN which is mostly satisfactory but it leaves the readers to draw their own conclusions. I’m the type of reader who prefers a little more towards an HEA than this book has but it did feel appropriate for this particular story.

A review copy was provided by the publisher via NetGalley but this did not influence my opinion or rating of the book.

You have to appreciate a book about a band called Saturday published by Wednesday books - it almost begs that the authors change their names to Monday and Tuesday. But all jokes aside, I was glad to see Cale Dietrich team up with another writer since a lot of the problems I had with his previous books were the love interests (no pun intended). The premise/plots always sound so promising but something always fell flat in the execution. This was a step up and both authors worked well together.

Story: Zach is the quiet and more laid back member of the boy band Saturday. Ruben is the ambitious one pushed hard by his overachieving mother. Together with wild boy Angel and reserved Jon, they are at the top of the charts, living life well. Until Zach and Ruben begin to acknowledge a mutual attraction that could destroy the band if word got out.

The story follows alternating POVs for Zach and Ruben as they begin to explore a mutual attraction. Meanwhile, Angel is self destructing with partying and drugs, causing further pressure with the band. At its heart, the book is about how each boy is made into an image that isn't them: conservative Jon is forced to be sexy, wild Angel is forced to be the 'nice unsexy one', Ruben isn't allowed to be openly gay, and Zach is not able to just be himself instead of always trying to please others.

Most of the book is the band being frustrated by the demands/commands of the record company (the owner is Jon's father, causing further issues). It causes Jon to be constantly unhappy, Angel to come unhinged, and Ruben/Zach into each other's arms.

The story takes place across a European tour. Most of the scenes take place in hotels in various European capitols. The picture the book paints is that being in a boy band is all misery and unhappiness - constant tours, fans tearing you apart, executives locking you in hotels rooms with guards so you can't even see the countries you are visiting. Meanwhile, parents exert various pressures on the boys at the same time. The band mates became petty and jealous of each other. The fans were there to try to kill them by tearing off their clothes (or arms) or burning them on social media.

I would have liked more balance in that regard - there has to be some good aspects to being in a band. It made a speech at the end by Zach about how the fans were everything to them and the reason they want to be their authentic selves ring hollow: all we got were scenes of fans suffocating them or trying to get them canceled. Similarly, most of the parents were reprehensible: two were status seekers, another absent, and one wallowing in her own issues too often. There had to be good things about being in the band other than being able to buy a single mother a fancy coffee maker.

The 'romance' was well played and an awkward slow burn that felt right. There was perhaps a bit too much melodrama and certainly the drama from the fellow band mates was a bit over the top at times. I didn't really believe any of the characters were real and the book did feel overly long at times. But the focus was on the issues with being in a boy band, if a bit shallow and unrealistic. So the romance didn't overshadow the story. This would make a great Netflix movie for all the melodrama and teen angst.

In all, I think anyone who has fallen for a boy band will really like this book. Teaming with Gonzales did provide much more depth and characterization to Dietrich's storytelling and certainly Dietrich is a genius with plot outlines. One can hope he continues to develop in this vein. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

Note: I listened to the audio version of this book and the narrator did a decent job. I did have trouble separating Zach from Ruben's voices and Angel sounded like an out of control surfer boy.

Let me start by saying I did enjoy the book. The beginning bored me a bit. And I did not know if I liked the fact it is about boys in a boyband. It is not my usual read and I also needed to switch my brain to the fact is is a YA story.
Once I got to about a 15%-20% in the story, did I start enjoying it a bit more.
I also was wondering how the love intrest would be developing thorougout the book and that kept me reading. I am happy at how everyone blossomed and had good character development.
The four guys each were great but I lacked some good side characters.
I enjoyed it but won't read it a second time.

If This Gets Out by Sophie Gonzales and Cale Dietrich was such a fun read! If you've ever wondered what would happen if two members of your favorite boy band fell in love with each other, this one's definitely for you!

Ruben, Zach, Angel, and Jon were all complex, well-written characters. I love how this book explores the pressures and the downsides to being famous while still acknowledging the wealth and privilege that come with it. Ruben and Zach's relationship was beautifully handled and I was rooting for them the whole time!

One of the characters does struggle with a drug addiction, so keep that in mind.

I've been a huge fan of Sophie Gonzales and I'm so glad this book solidified that for me! I'll also be keeping an eye out for Cale Dietrich now!

I loved the drama and the boy band dynamic! I love Sophie Gonzales and this is just another book I enjoyed. It made me think about what people in the media go through.

This was a fun read, but ultimately didn't live up to my expectations. For a 400+ page book, a lot of the storylines felt underdeveloped, and a lot of the conflicts were resolved very quickly. I found myself feeling like the book was dragging in the middle. I would have liked a shorter book that was more tightened up, since some of the parts I really enjoyed!

Things I liked: The depiction of the music industry from the perspective of a boy band member, it was cool to read about their experience dealing with fame. Zach & Ruben's relationship was so cute and I did love to see their moments together. I liked especially the parts where Zach learns that he needs to look out for himself too, not just other people.

Things that didn't work for me: I thought the plot line with Angel and the drug addiction/abuse wasn't handled well. It really seemed like he went to rehab and then everything was all better. There was only one line after that about how this would be something he struggled with for his whole life. I also felt like Zach's relationship with his mom was resolved much too quickly, there were many parts about his relationship with his dad that weren't addressed later in the book. I found it difficult to distinguish sometimes between the POVs, even though they were written by different authors. I think in the audio version if there had been different narrators for the different characters that would have been helpful

Thanks to Net Galley for the audiobook ARC.
I enjoyed this book. If I would have read it as a teenager, I probably would have been obsessed.

The audiobook was well done. I wish there were two different narrators since this is a duel perspective book. I found myself becoming confused with which character's perspective we were in. I'm not sure if this was a writing issue or just because there was one audiobook narrator.