*Spoiler free*

Sophie Gonzales had a hand in writing this book, so of course I wanted to read it. And it's also queer. And about a boy band. And about two boys in that boy band who fall for each other and want to come out, but their management won't let them. Yes, I was completely intrigued by this and I was incredibly eager to read it. <strong>Trigger warnings: emotional abuse, addiction, homophobia</strong>

This is such a good book. It's everything that the synopsis promises it will be. It's messy and it's queer and it's painful and it's adorable and it's really, really good.

This book is really freaking queer. I know that is obvious because of the synopsis, but I loved the conversations surrounding and of queerness. One boy, Zach, is figuring out his sexuality, how he wants to define it, how he feels comfortable with it. And just, the denial and the pushing down, that is something that I have done. I loved, loved seeing Zach come to terms with and explore his identity.

I honestly loved Zach as a whole character. The way he is so kind and so sweet. And how he struggles with wanting to please everybody around him. He wants everybody to be happy. He is a people pleaser to the max.

And Ruben, I adored him too. I loved seeing how confident and sure he was in his identity, how he wanted to badly to claim it publicly. He also deals with familial pain, and the weight of wanting to perform to the very best of his ability. He puts so much pressure of himself, and just, watching him deal with that was amazing to witness.

Plus, the other members for the band were all around incredible too! Jon, with his steadiness and Angel with his ball to the walls wildness were just incredible. The whole band was freaking adorable together, and I loved the comradery they shared. Plus, they are genuinely love each other, and it was super cool to see guys caring about each other platonically (and non-platonically too haha).

The whole boy band aspect was incredibly amazing haha. I loved the music part to it, the way that all the boys were so into what they are doing. They all handle it in different ways, and they all have their own struggles, but they are so passionate about what they do.

This book is adorable, and super sweet, but it also stings. It deals with the stress of being such a public figure, under the thumb of a big corporation who wants as many profits as possible. It explores queerness in this, it explores the pains that it brings, and the limits that it can push people to. And it does messy so, so well. Emotions run high, callus things are said, and drastic actions are taken. And there is no perfect solution, but there ways to figure it out, to talk about it, to find the people to figure it out with. I've gushed about how well Sophie deals with messy emotions, and combined with Cale, this book does it so incredibly well.

There were also moments in this book were the emotional beats were just spot on, and completely top notch. I wanted to scream during some of them, because they worked so well. They way it came together, the way the characters felt, what they did, oh I could gush about them so much.

The one not completely positive comment that I have is that Zach and Ruben sort of blended together for me in the beginning. But, as the book went on, their distinct personalities started coming out more and they started shaping themselves into themselves.

Overall, I adored this book. I punched my straight down into my heart, but it was also sweet and amazing and spectacular. If you're wanting everything that the synopsis promises, I can tell you that this book delivers. It so queer, and so amazing.

First thing’s first, HUGE thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read this early!

If I had to describe this book in one word, it would be “disillusionment”. Reading this story felt like looking behind the wizard’s curtain and seeing something that, deep down, I expected, but hoped like hell wasn’t true. The themes of autonomy, addiction, family and friendship wrapped up in contracts and legalese, and what it means to be queer in the spotlight all wrapped in the flashing lights of a world tour was, frankly, one of the best reading experiences of my life.

The romance in this book was nothing short of beautiful. I’ve always been a fan of the best friends to lovers trope, but this really took that to the next level. Watching Zach and Ruben lean on each other during the roughest times (and there are some ROUGH times) only to come out the other side stronger and ready to tackle the next challenge is exactly what I hoped for from this book, and it ever once let me down. Seriously, get ready for all the warm fluffies from them… once they work their crap out, of course.

Despite being a work of fiction, this book relates heavily to modern, real world issues in the entertainment industry. I found myself frequently drawing parallels between Saturday and Taylor Swift fighting to gain ownership over her own music while reading, as well as the work Alyson Stoner is doing currently to increase safety for child actors on TV and movie sets. If either of those issues interests you, or if this is a subject you can see yourself being passionate about, read this book. Like, as soon as humanly possible.

I read this in less than a day and was so hooked that I even read it during class at college, oops. It was so good and I can’t recommend it highly enough!! (Also apologies this is my first review haha) I’m so glad I already preordered this as there’s no regrets and I definitely would have preordered it after reading.

Look, you had me at “queer boy band romance,” but the reality was somehow so much better?? You already know that Ruben and Zach are falling in love, but the journey to get there, through learning to communicated and self-exploration and owning their own inner selves was a magical, beautiful journey. The in depth discussion of the insidious nature of the music industry as the backdrop was so well-researched and heart wrenching. I need more books, I have to know what happens with Saturday!

THIS WAS THE CUTEST BOOK. I pretty much never read real life books, sticking to fantasy and sci-fi, and I'm not even a fan of any current boybands, but oh my god. I devoured this book. The writing was amazing and the characters felt so real. The pace was also so, so good. I constantly wanted to keep reading, and never felt like anything was dragging. Honestly I just want a million sequels already as long as it features the boys of Saturday.

I READ THIS IN ONE SITTING I LAUGHED I CRIED I HAD SO MANY EMOTIONS

PLEASE BUY THIS BOOK

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Okay, now that I've calmed down.

This book is excellent. You know when blurbs say "compulsively readable" or "unputdownable?" Yeah, that is this book. I literally could not stop reading. It's got such incredible heart to it, and it takes you through the journey of this band, highs and lows, and through it a genuinely wonderful romance and exploration of being true yourself and your art. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

This is one of my top reads of 2021! The premise of this book was really intriguing, and the authors did an excellent job executing it. The book is about Saturday, a top boy band, and especially two of its members, Ruben and Zach. Ruben and Zach have always been close since they met at a summer camp. During the course of a tour, they become closer than either thought possible, leading them to question their tightly controlled existence where their management company dictates everything from their clothes to their movements to even whether they can be honest about core aspects of their identity.

The book switches back and forth between the perspectives of Ruben and Zach, with each written by one of the authors. I really enjoyed this approach to telling this story, which allows the reader to see two overlapping but distinct views on both their relationship and the overarching issues they are facing. The depiction of the music industry and how artists are treated is also powerful and thought-provoking.

Very highly recommended!

If This Gets Out is the story of two bandmates who fall in love which kickstarts their journey to coming out to the world. There is a lot to like about this book, but ultimately it didn't fully work for me and it's hard to articulate why. I wish there was some (more) commentary/plot exploration about the role shipping plays in the fans' lives and their own--not only shipping, but when it gets into conspiracy theory territory.

I was so excited to get to read this book as an ARC and it didn’t disappoint! I love a book with a focus on character relationships and I adored the friendship between the 4 bandmates. And the romantic relationship was so adorable and sexy with just enough gay teenage angst to make it interesting.

There were a few strings that weren’t fully tied at the end, like Zach never addressing a specific comment his Mom made that (I felt) needed addressing and I’m still concerned about the future of the relationship between Ruben and his mom, but that is a particularly complicated situation. I think an epilogue could have resolved those issues, it could have offered some comfort around Ruben’s relationship with his mom, and on Angel’s recovery journey. Of course, if they plan on making a sequel then an epilogue would be redundant, so fingers crossed!

I really loved this story. It made me smile and giggle at all the cuteness and I love that it ended on a hopeful note. This is very much a coming out novel and a YA romance. It’s a fun read!


TW: emotional abuse, homophobia, alcohol and substance use disorder

This is a terrific read! It is the story of Saturday, one of the biggest boy bands in the world. Ruben and Zach, two of the members of the band, have always been close and, over the course of their international tour, find their friendship evolving into a romance. As it does, though, they realize how little control they exercise over their own lives and begin to question whether they want to remain under the thumb of their management company.

I enjoy both of these authors and together they created a wonderful story of finding yourself, friendship and family, and the pressures of working as a professional musician. Highly recommended!

I'm so happy I got to read this book already, because I feel like I've already been anticipating it forever. And I loved it even more than I was expecting.

It's clear in this book that it's written by two authors, but in a good way: the perspectives feel distinctly different and I never confused Ruben and Zach with each other - they had very clear voices. But at the same time the book and especially the writing and characterization felt so cohesive - the writing styles matched each other really well.

I'm just living for Ruben and Zach's dynamic. I'm learning that two characters being soft together in a harsh environment is my kryptonite, and that's exactly what we got here. Plus, they grew so much together, and genuinely supported each other, and I loved to see that. That goes for the rest of the band as well - they have their issues with each other, but they genuinely love and support each other.

Ok this is an instant, new favorite for me. Sophie & Cale made me fall in love with these four boys as if they were a real boy band that I am a die hard fan of. The intricacies of what happens behind the scenes in the music industry was both heartbreaking and incredible to see. The writing felt so in sync and I forgot I was reading two different authors at points. I highly recommend for anyone who loves boy bands, drama, behind the scenes insight, or just queer love in general. My only complaint is that it ended. I could read these boys’ forever.

ighteen-year-olds Ruben Montez and Zach Knight are two members of the boy-band Saturday, one of the biggest acts in America. Along with their bandmates, Angel Phan and Jon Braxton, the four are teen heartbreakers in front of the cameras and best friends backstage. But privately, cracks are starting to form: their once-easy rapport is straining under the pressures of fame, and Ruben confides in Zach that he’s feeling smothered by management’s pressure to stay in the closet.

If This Gets Out throughly exceded all of my expectations. I was expecting a cute story about two boyband members falling in love and what I read was so much more, as it was also an emotional and intense story about the abuses of the music industry. I was immediately invested in the story and did not want to put the book down until I knew how everything was going to play out. I don’t usually enjoy books from multiple perspectives, but the two perspectives in this book were so well done and both boys were such strong characters on their own that I was never left wanting more. Even outside of the two main perspectives, all of characters, and there are a lot, are distinct and balanced very well. I did feel like the build up to the plot took a long time, however, this helped to develop the characters as individuals and allowed me to become much more invested in them before the plot really takes off in the second half of the book. Overall, I greatly enjoyed If This Gets Out and will continue to think about its characters and message for a long time.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books, St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read an ARC in exchange for providing honest feedback!

I thoroughly enjoyed If This Gets Out. I liked the first section of the book when Zach and Ruben's relationship was being developed. In particular I really appreciated the way Zach was allowed the time to figure out his identity as a bi man, outside of the main relationship. I did, however, find the second part of the novel more engaging, as the plot really started driving the narrative.

What made this book special was the characters. The four bandmates Zach, Ruben, Jon and Angel each had such distinct personalities, which really shone through when they interacted with each other. They were all realistically flawed but they grew throughout the book. And while the majority of the adults in the book may have been unlikable, they were complex and well written characters.

I also really liked the commentary on the boy band formula and the insidious nature of music industry. Specifically when it comes to the treatment of LGBT+ musicians and performers. And I valued how the authors touched upon how young men, especially young pop stars, are expected and encouraged to conform to hyper masculine and hyper-sexualised stereotypes in order to be more appealing to fans. I'm glad young adults are getting books like this which touch upon these issues.

This book was amazing! I loved not just the romance but also the interactions within the band, which were so wholesome! The authors clearly put a lot of thought and research into this book. One critique is that at times I felt like the book just dragged on and
on, and the ending felt a but rushed to me. But I really enjoyed “If This Gets Out” otherwise!

Its 2 in the morning and I am emotional.
This books is special ya'll.
I went in thinking this was just going to be a fluffy Boyband Rom-com,
And I got a wonderful thought provoking soft romance with so much to say.
And this doesn't hold back punches, on the hardships of young stardom,problems with the music industry, the struggles of sexuality,or addiction.
Both Sophie and Cale' writing shown individually and synchronized so well. Both povs never felt fractured or disconnected.
It was JUST lovely.
I wish I could give it more than 5 stars!
I will definitely be reccomending and buying a hard copy when it's released!

I can hear it now - the wild fangirling of every person who shipped each and every member of One Direction. This is their dream come true.

I'm pretty sure this story isn't inspired by 1D (no references that I could find), but it isn't hard to make comparisons. Honestly, being in a boyband (or anything in the entertainment industry) sounds like a nightmare, so it was very easy to sympathise with all four of the MCs. I enjoyed how they each discovered themselves, particularly Zach, and fought to been seen and heard. The character development in this is seriously off the charts. And each of the boys feel so real, so likeable, so relatable.

I'm pretty sure everyone who picks up this book will become a stan of the boys of Saturday. #Zuban

I loved this, it’s a story about two members of a boy band falling for each other. Yes please 🥺🥰. It was cute and wonderful and my nostalgic heart just really melted. I really loved Zach’s character, when I see characters with anxiety who overthink I can’t help but connect with them. And the struggle with always trying to please people. Ugh, I loved watching his character grow throughout the novel.

I seriously need to stop obsessing over fictional bands... First The Ark and now this!! This book was one of my most anticipated books for 2021, honestly I've been DYING to get ah e-ARC and .... THIS DIDN'T DISAPPOINT. It is so good. I loved it ! I'll have to write a more detailed review but for now I just wanted to scream about it.