Susan’s Book Blog

Never Ever Getting Back Together   by Sophie Gonzales Available now! DNFd at 41% (Click on the title above for a synopsis and more info.) Okay so it wasn’t *bad*, there were just some choices made that felt inappropriate to me and, bottom line, just made it too much of a young read for me. I see people say they’ve “aged out” of YA or don’t feel comfortable reading it because they’re too old to relate to it anymore but I have never felt that way. I love rooting for a teen to find self-acceptance, self worth, or a love interest. I have no problem with that at all. Sometimes I even feel like I can vicariously relive my own teen years through them only with a much more satisfying outcome at the end. 😂  I also love a good frothy sleazy reality tv show as much as the next person. But can we at least agree literal teenagers probably shouldn’t be participating in them? These kids are 18. Sigh. No. Nooooo. This felt like a worse kind of exploitation than one normally finds on reality ...

 I can’t help but appreciate how much effort publishers put into getting eyeballs on their books. And Wednesday Books / St. Martin’s / Macmillan has done good with If This Gets Out .  The book is about a boy band called Saturday and one of the items is a bookmark that looks like a concert ticket. How cute is that? I love both the bookmark and the sticker and am so glad I was able to catch this offer!  Have you ever received goodies for a preorder incentive? The only other one I’ve done so far is the poster for TJ Klune’s Under the Whispering Door (you can see it in my post about it   here ). I think it’s also an amazing way to engage fans and get them excited about these wonderful books. So a big THANK YOU to the publisher for these adorable items!

 I’m so excited for everyone to get their hands on this wonderful book! It’s Pub Day for If This Gets Out by Sophie Gonzales and Cale Dietrich. It’s one of my favorite books of this year. You can find my GR review for it  here  (and also below, keep scrolling down) but if you like romance, behind-the-scenes style stories, and amazing characters, do yourself a favor and get this book! I can’t wait till mine gets here! *peeks out the window to watch for the delivery truck* 🚚 👀  Some highlights, themes and topics: 🎤   Queer YA / MLM romance 🎤   Friendships 🎤   Celebrity Boy band 🎤   Coming out story   🎤   Finding your voice It’s a beautiful and impactful story told with emotion and humor. Every character is wonderful and you’ll be rooting so hard for Zach and Ruben. Full GR review below: I really loved this book. It lived up to everything I’d hoped it would be. It’s the first I’ve read from either of the authors and I am impr...

  GR review here While we’re waiting on my slow ass to get through Murder Most Actual , I thought I’d post my review for If This Gets Out . It deserves a lot of love.  I adored this one. It lived up to everything I’d hoped it would be. It’s the first I’ve read from either of the authors and I am impressed. The writing is excellent - it kept me turning pages right from the beginning. The characters are well drawn and interesting. I was all in before I was halfway through the first chapter. Ruben and Zach are members of a popular boy band and the book starts off with a detailed moment-by-moment description of Ruben’s concert performance experience. It actually feels like you’re getting a behind the scenes peek at how giant music industry machinery works.  I loved all four of the band members. They’re funny and smart and like-able but, most importantly, they’re believable as 18 year olds. The book’s POV switches back and forth between Ruben and Zach, but we get to know all f...