Hey lovelies! Today I'm so happy to be bringing to you the review for this amazing YA contemporary novel that I couldn't have loved more.
I recieved an advenced e-galley of the book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you so much to Wednesday Books for this opportunity.
RELEASE DATE- 7 DECEMBER 2021
MY RATING- 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
REVIEW TIME!
Oh WOW! Alright, so I am so happy that I read this book because I loved it more than I had ever expected. I mean I had high expectations for this mostly because I had already read and loved Only Mostly Devastated by Sophie Gonzales, so I was almost sure that I was gonna like this. The story is about two boys, Ruben and Zach that are best friends (and couldn't be more opposite) and fall for each other while also being members of a super famous boy band called Saturday. The story follows them as they navigate their relationship through publicity, media, discovering their sexuality and identity, and all the other obstacles that come in their path.
The story is told from two main point of views- Ruben and Zach, the two members of the band, and we alternate between their two perspectives. The fantastic thing about the book is not the romance, although the chemistry between the characters is super cute, but what really sold it for me was the reality and rawness of all of it. Sophie Gonzalez really focuses on the pressure and sacrifices you have to make to be famous. I was amazed as to how truly invested I was even in the side characters' lives. Even when the book ended I wanted to keep going to somehow find a way to spend more time with the characters. Saturday are a fairly popular boy band on their first International Tour and Gonzalez really shows us a clear picture of the intense lifestyle of celebrities, all the hoops they have to jump through, all the compromises they have to make, and how little of their true selves they are allowed to show to the world.
The night our whole world falls apart, I spend most of our concert lost in thought.
Also, the writing is so immersive, with just the right amount of angst to build up the tension, and you are so in tune with the characters that if there is a scene where the band is rehearsing a dance number and they are exhausted to the bone, you feel it with them. The characters are in a very competitive environment with jam-packed schedules, so there are quite a few scenes of them just performing onstage, doing interviews, training and reversing, and to be honest I kind of like seeing that sequence. It brings up so many themes like sexuality, identity, substance abuse and creative freedom in the music industry. It's truly a delight to see all these topics so well in context of the musical industry. And the weirdest thing is while I was reading this, I kept comparing it to BTS in my head even though there was nothing Korean about it. I guess it could be because I associated BTS with this other boy band that also had such a great chemistry and genuinity (if that's even a word 😅) between the members. Maybe? I guess?? But what I am sure about is that if you are a fan of boy bands and cute romances, you'll definitely want to check this out. And maybe vibe to a few K-pop songs while you're reading just to enhance the experience.
Let's Chat!
What are some of your favorite YA romances to read? Have I convinced you to add this book on your TBR yet? Any other thing you wanna share?
Let me know in the comments!
Until then,
I hope everyone stays safe,
and Bye!
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