ARC REVIEW: If This Gets Out – by Sophie Gonzales & Cale Dietrich

Title: If This Gets Out
Author: Sophie Gonzales & Cale Dietrich
Genre: YA, Contemporary, Romance
First published: December 7th 2021
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Finished reading: July 30th 2021
Pages: 320

“None of them know the real us, of course, because they don’t know us at all, no matter how much they wish they did. But some see us more clearly.”

*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and Wednesday Books in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***

I know that I’ve been slacking with my YA reads in recent years, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t enjoy them and there was just something about the premise of If This Gets Out that intrigued me instantly. Add that I’ve enjoyed Sophie Gonzales’ writing in the past and I was more than curious to see what this author duo would come up with. And I most definitely liked what I found! If This Gets Out turned out to be an entertaining and adorable MM romance story with just the right amount of angst and an interesting balance between lighter moments and heavier topics.

I confess that I’ve never been ‘that’ screaming fangirl of any band myself, so I can’t say that I was put off by the fact that this story is apparently a reference to a certain boyband (~~I basically had to look up which one, so that probably says a lot about either my age or ignorance~~). Reference or not, it doesn’t change the fact that I really liked the premise of this story. A boyband made up out of four friends, one member forced to stay inside the closet and another discovering his sexuality but forced to keep it a secret… It’s been a while since I read a MM romance and I have to say that the romance part of the story was done really well: sweet, just a hint of steam and focus on more serious topics as well.

If This Gets Out uses a dual POV structure, where we switch between the two band members most important in this story. Ruben and Zach are both interesting characters and I really liked their interactions and dynamics together. The same goes for the rest of the band; they are all quite easy to like and root for. They could have done with a little more fleshing out to make them feel more realistic, as they sometimes felt more like someone to help get a message across rather than an individual with his own history… But I personally didn’t mind that much as the plot itself keeps you entertained.

I always love a travel theme in my stories, and we definitely get a whirlwind tour through Europe during this book. The main focus though is on the band, music, the MM romance and the fact that the two are forced to keep their relationship a secret. Heavier topics such as homophobia, parental abuse, addiction and drugs are incorporated into the plot and play a big role, but they are balanced with lighter moments and enough fluff to keep this an easy-to-read and engaging romcom. The writing probably has a lot to do with that too; both POVs are engaging, flow really well and made it really easy to keep turning those pages. As a whole, I can definitely recommend If This Gets Out to fans of the genre!