“I’ll do whatever I have to do to protect this.” This quote is a great representation of the book If This Gets Out because Zach and Ruban are doing anything and everything they can do to keep themselves and each other safe so they can be together, and so their fans know that it’s ok to be who you are.

The two main characters are Zach Knight and Ruban Montez, two of four boys in a boy band called ‘Saturday’ who are friends at the beginning of the book, but end up dating each other closer to the middle. The boys want to come out to their fans, but Geoff Braxton (their manager) won’t let them because he believes that they will lose fans and sooner or later, lose money.

The book starts with the boys in the U.S. but they go on their tour through Europe because they want to see all their fans from all corners of the world. They are often either in their hotel rooms or on stage, but sometimes the boys will be doing an interview or eating in a restaurant. At the end of the book, the boys are back in the U.S. and are focusing on a few things, like the lawsuit between them and Geoff, and Zach and Ruban trying to figure out how to come out.

The book's conflict is that Geoff Braxton won’t let Ruban come out, and eventually won't let Zach and Ruban tell their fans about their relationship. Because of this, Zach and Ruban have to keep their relationship a secret from everyone outside of ‘Saturday’. They eventually have to hijack their first show after Angel’s accident, and, end up telling the entire audience about their relationship. The fans are happy because they relate to the boys. There is also a lawsuit between the four boys and Geoff, but we don’t see how that ends.

The author is reminding us that no matter how hard you try to control someone they will ultimately find a way to do what they want. The author tells a story of how Geoff Braxton was controlling the two boys and they wanted to come out to all their fans, so instead of listening to Geoff, they took over a show and came out.

I recommend this book because there are a lot of interesting topics and details, like drug usage, and how when the boys are in Europe they are legally allowed to drink and do other stuff because they are 18. It is legal, along with what life is like behind the curtain for celebrities, although, there is also drug abuse and controlling of people, so if you are sensitive to those topics I would not recommend reading If This Gets Out. But for those who like stories about how people will do anything to show who they are to those who matter to them, If This Gets Out is a good book for you to read. ( )

4.25 ( )

This was so much fun! I can't say I'm aware of any boy band fandom, but hey, I'm a big fan of a lot of small fans and it was intriguing to think through the relationships the members all have with each other, and especially the way that they themselves can be marketed and sold. ( )

I read the NetGalley ARC; this is my honest review.

It's the perfect title for this plot, something I always admire. The boy band guys are distinct - and the two POV characters get different fonts, which helped me immeasurably as they each have (different) mom issues. The plot is given enough time to develop; the issues are taken from some real-world scandals. The individual ways the guys handle problems was great. And, I liked how it ended, which is key to gaining a fourth star. I didn't mind at all that it's fade-to-black (no sex scenes). The boy band/management issues felt real, and were creepy, but the entertainment industry can be, and if you don't know that, just remember: no business is your friend. The bottom line is inherently dangerous to individuals. It's an important message, particularly for young readers.

I had issues with how poorly one of the guys deals with his inner awareness, or rather how long it lasted. That's probably just me. It isn't my own experience at all.

I give this four instead of five stars because the prose is full of showing a feeling and then telling me what it is, so double-telling, which feels like distrust of readers to me. Each POV character over-describes his state of mind multiple times, another symptom of telling instead of showing. Done sparingly, it's fine. But here it is constant.

All in all, not sorry I came across this one and gave it a try. ( )

I'm a big fan of both, Sophie and Cale. When I saw this synopsis my directioner heart lost a beat, but the read was so not the fanfiction I was expecting!
You can see some resemblance with the boys, but also with a lot of boybands and girlbands over the times, I liked a lot the relationship between them as a group, very close but also some tension between thinking of the others as friends or work colleagues.
The plot was dense, the drama was close to zero when it comes to their relationships, they just were really good to each other, never fighting hard, never lying, just some small misunderstandings that were resolved almost instantly.
The book was mostly about the industry, actually, about closeting, toxic relationships in the family or at work, being gaslighted, outed, threatened, substance abuse, and so many things that we don't talk enough about, when we really should.
It's really a lot bigger than just a ship, being the actually ships being truth or not, doesn't matter, what does matter it's why, when we have 3% of the worldwide population being LGBTQIA (this of the people that are actually out, in friendlier countries this can be over the 20%), how can in the media we have so few examples? This makes us think that one of two things is happening:
1- the LGBT community doesn't get to be between the biggest stars
2- the LGBT community is there, but closed
And why? This can only reflect the prejudice of the public, the media and everyone that manage this industries. We, as the public, need to show support. If we are showing to the wrong persons, like the Saturday's fans that were over heels by Anjon when they're not the real couple in the band, well, that was a honest mistake, but this still showed to them as a band that they would be just as loved by the fans even if they were not straight as the media painted them.
Even if the authors said that the book was not inspired by any real ship, and I believe it, they obviously made the research about the ones that are actually in the media and used this in this book. It was very respectful with all the real artists, and nothing but perfect, as it always is with the books by these two. ( )