Reviews with content warning for Gaslighting - If This Gets Out

Negativity ahead so if this was like, your fave of the year, do not @ me.

This was one of my most anticipated if not THE most anticipated read of this year and honestly, I wanted more. It was enjoyable enough to get me through to the end, but I just had so many issues with it that made it really hard for me to want to pick this up.

Positives first: The romance was very sweet. I have no complaints about Zach and Ruben's relationship. They made me smile and laugh, and swoon a lot of the time. These two nerds were made for each other. The scenes where they're sort of awkward around each other consistently made me giggle out loud. In the first 30 or so pages, there is already pining, which is for sure something that I was immediately signed up for. Additionally, the bromance between the band members and how much the boys valued their fans was very sweet and touched my heart in all the right places.

And then here is where I'm going to be a little cranky.

There were some things about this book that just made me...cringe? The use of Twitter words felt forced and very "hello fellow kids." The writing itself wasn't terrible, but it wasn't great either in my opinion. There were some adjustments to the overall plot that I would make, and I think I would make this shorter overall if it were me. I think that the book became confused about what it wanted to be after the first half was over - the tone shifted and it became something darker that I wasn't really ready for. The most glaring issue for me is the women in this book. Pretty much none of the women who appear in this book are portrayed in a positive light, and for a book with very few female characters, that is a problem for me. The female characters that were present and prevalent were either abusive, totally clueless, or just randoms that showed up for 2 pages and left. After having these thoughts myself and talking to a friend about it, this alone made the book go down half a star for me. I wanted so much more from this and I was let down. *shrug*

Content Warnings

abbymatch12's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

hccano's review against another edition

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emotional funny tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Content Warnings

jenny_librarian's review against another edition

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emotional informative inspiring tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

I admit I was worried when I first heard about this book. I'm a Directioner and I still have flashbacks from a certain subfandom that was just as destructive as management. Reading this kind of pitch always makes me worries it will give whoever still believes in those conspiracies some validation. Thankfully - as you can probably tell from my rating -- this wasn't it.

It's a coming-out story as well as a call out to the industry. Western standards for pop artists are so high that management will sometimes do anything to attain them, even if it destroys the very artists they represent. Boybands are the most notorious example of this. Angel's drug and alcohol consumption, Jon's struggle to keep his modesty, Ruben and Zach's sexuality are all things that are very much problematic in the music industry. The authors did a good job on that front, even if there were some mishaps here and there.

Queer boys pinning for each other seem to be my kryptonite, so this was a sure win. I'm a sucker for those kinds of stories where sexuality isn't a big deal, but the boys can't seem to ever just *be* together until the very end. Gets me every single time.

As a fangirl, I did have some trouble with a few details, but it wasn't anything major. More like I feel there wasn't enough editing on some aspects as there should have been. Examples include Ruben fearing for his life on the moving platform in the middle of the concert (artists are ALWAYS strapped to a harness or attached to a pole while on a moving platform since it's a security risk), the Amsterdam hotel elevator opening directly on the gravel rooftop without a door in-between (?!?!), and the mention of "queer male fans" but "straight and bi girls" in their fandom when Zach is thinking about coming out (weirdest wording ever and erases a huge chunk of fangirls who are neither). Also, replacing Good Morning America with "Good Afternoon United States" is just... unnecessary...? Call it GMA or make up a whole other show, but don't change the name if you're going to be that obvious about it...

That's just me being nitpicky, though. I really liked the book and Ruben and Zach's relationship.

Content Warnings

irisheyz77's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Content Warnings

sunsetcity's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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