It’s been a while since we’ve done a buddyread and decided it was time again. So our first buddy review is going to be for If This Gets Out. We were both really curious about this one and it definitely was quite different than we were expecting, but not in a bad way. Keep on reading to find out more about the book and what we thought.

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Eighteen-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.
On a whirlwind tour through Europe, with both an unrelenting schedule and minimal supervision, Ruben and Zach come to rely on each other more and more, and their already close friendship evolves into a romance. But when they decide they’re ready to tell their fans and live freely, Zach and Ruben start to truly realize that they will never have the support of their management. How can they hold tight to each other when the whole world seems to want to come between them?

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If This Gets Out by Sophie Gonzales, Cale Dietrich
Published by Wednesday Books on 07/12/2021
Genres: Contemporary
Pages: 416
Format: ARC
Source: Netgalley
Goodreads

Cover

Candyce I feel like a broken record sometimes, but I really love the illustrated covers. The colors and the main characters really pop and I love that we see the silhouette of the whole group as well.

Isabelle I love the illustration of these beautiful boys! In general I only like illustrated people on covers and I think they are really well done here. I also love the details on the bottom! Also, the colors are great and I like the typography.

Review

Candyce To be honest I was a big fan of boybands growing up and my first concert was Backstreet Boys. I wasn’t the type who was screaming while waiting to get a glimpse of the band, but after reading If This Gets Out I have to say I look a little different at all the boy bands out there. I’m sure there are many amazing sides, but it’s not all sunshine.

So that’s what I want to start off with. I was surprised by how ‘dark’ this book got and how many serious things were dealt with: drug abuse, abuse of power, emotional abuse, the dark side of fame, and dysfunctional parent-child relationships. That being said it did fit the story and the authors did this really well. There were enough bright spots, so I thought it was only realistic to shine a spotlight on the darker sides of fame.

Then there’s the band: Ruben, Zach, Jon, and Angel. Yes, they fight and have their moments, but they always have the other’s back. They know each other like no other and have become their own family. I loved their dynamics even in the more difficult times. I can’t imagine what it’s like traveling the world doing what you love, but also having all eyes on you.

And then we have Zach and Ruben. In the end it’s really who this book is mostly about. It’s told through a dual POV and that added so much for me. I loved seeing how both of them were feeling and how they thought about certain things. As a big fan of friends to lovers I was excited for this one and their relationship had me smiling a lot. It showed how you have to figure out a lot about yourself, but also the other. Things didn’t always go smoothly, but it was clear they wanted to fight for each other. Besides just their relationship and career there were also some family things both have to deal with. It was interesting to see them deal with certain aspects of their families while also just trying to be themselves . I don’t want to say too much, because it’s a book you just need to experience for yourself. I’ll be revisiting this one in the future.

“The freedom to be ourselves, and express whatever truest version of ourselves we know of to the world as we see fit, is the most important freedom we have.”

Isabelle I don’t pick up that many contemporary stories so I’m pretty picky about which ones I do want to read. And this one was one that spoke to me immediately. I really like the boyband aspect and I’m super interested in the psychological part behind the fame. So I loved that we got to see that darker aspect of fame in this novel. I wasn’t expecting it, but it was really well done in my opinion!

It was very interesting to see all 4 boys deal with these heavy topics; drug abuse, abuse of power, emotional abuse, and dysfunctional parent-child relationships. For those parts I wished we got 4 POV’s instead of just 2 but for the rest of the story it did make sense that we only got Ruben and Zach as they are the main focus of the book. It would’ve just been great reading some chapters from Jon and Angel’s perspectives. I really like their characters and they definitely stole my heart.

Like I said, the main focus of the story is the relationship between Ruben and Zach. They start of as best friends and that slowly evolves into something more. I didn’t expect it to start before the romantic relationship but I loved that we got to see that start. It was so cute!! I was rooting for them from the start and thought it was all done very realistically. There were some bumps in the road and they really had to work through those. Both Zach and Ruben had personal stuff to deal with and I just really enjoyed reading about their development. I’ve really come to love these boys and want all the best for them. This would make such a good tv show or movie! Highly recommend this to basically all readers haha.

“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 was definitely a great book to start our buddyreads with. We both hope these two authors write more books together, because If This Gets Out isn’t one we’ll be forgetting anytime soon. Have you read this book already? If you have tell us your thoughts down below. We’d love to hear from you.