Another fun romance with a genre twist from Cale! I found myself rooting for the two boys to end up together while also not trusting it to end well, and was pleased by how it all played out!

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book.

Rating: 3 stars
Rep: m/m romance, gay mc.

"The Friend Scheme" was one of my most anticipated 2020 releases, I've been wanting to read something by Cale Dietrich for a while now so I was ecstatic when I was approved for this eARC!

First up, this book was super fast-paced. I've been in a reading slump the last month and everything I try to pick up is taking me forever to finish, however, I started this book yesterday afternoon and finished it that same night, I was hooked and the writing style was easy.

However, I did have a few problems. One main issue is that I thought this book would be more of a thriller. I love a good romance heavy book as much as the next person but I think it might have been too much here, the romance overshadowed every other part of the plot and the characters, the main character Matt especially, felt flat and undeveloped. I wanted more of a ride, more suspense and more, well, thrillery-ness. Also, for a book focused solely on the romance, I really wasn't a fan of the love interest, Jason, for numerous reasons.

Personally, I thought the last 30% of this book was super rushed, everything tied up way too neatly for me and I had a ton more questions than answers.

I have a few more small issues, but overall, I'm super glad I read this and I did have a fun time reading! And while it wasn't completely my cup of tea, I'll definitely be reading more by this author in the future and I'll be picking up "The Love Interest" very soon!

This was a really fun book that I didn't want to stop reading. It's dramatic and over-the-top and sort of ridiculous, but that's what makes it so much fun. Matt and Jason had such wonderful chemistry and banter - I loved them together and seeing them try to develop such a strong friendship first before romance, and how that foundation meant so much to the both of them was wonderful to see. I thought Matt was a great character - seeing his struggles of family vs duty were well thought out and we never looked down on him or lost sympathy for him which is important for someone in a bad situation. I do think the last third of the book felt quite rushed and easily resolved. I think there easily could have been another 100 pages to flesh out some of the resolutions and really build some tension, but it was still a fun story overall.

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

I was really hoping to like this book because it gave off big Romeo and Juliet vibes.
However, there were a few things that I just couldn't get on board with.

The writing was very short and choppy.
Many parts of the book were written one line after the other.
Or short pieces of dialogue after the other.
In a line.
Like this.
(This did make it quick to read, but I really did not connect with it.)

There were quite a few times in the book, where the love interest wanted to talk to Matt about his feelings, being gay, his labels, his weight... And while this would not normally be a bad thing, it was written in exactly the same way every time and felt like the author was putting in these conversations because he felt that he had to, and not because it was necessary.
I prefer books that include LGBTQ as no big deal. Maybe I have moved on from the more "coming out" type stories, even though I did not feel like this was one.

Now, a semi-spoiler, but a pet peeve of mine in stories. Jason, our love interest, was lying to Matt about himself and his motives. Matt and Jason were in a relationship and decided to further their relationship, but Jason decides not to tell the truth until after Matt is basically in love with him and they had had sex. I really don't like this trope of miscommunication/lying when characters are supposed to be falling in love and then just get over the problems in the end of the story.

I can see why some people might like this story, but it was really not for me.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Matt is the son of one of the major crime families in his Florida city with his father who really wants him to get more invested in the family business, but Matt has other ambitions. When he meets Jason, a mysterious boy with a secret, he knows falling in love is a bad move, but the heart wants what it wants.

This book had all kinds of potential for a Romeo and Juliet type love story, but it didn’t reach that potential. A lot of the book read like a normal romance between two boys where they have a minor secret, as if being a part of one of two major crime families in a city isn’t a big deal.

Speaking of, the ball was really dropped on the mob family part of the book. There are about three total scenes where typical mob stuff goes down (beyond just meetings) with the majority of the book being the romance. I feel like there could’ve been a lot of that “juggling illegal activity with being a normal kid stuff,” but for a book marketed as “part romance, part thriller,” I was barely thrilled.

Most of the characters were pretty flat, which led to rough, stilted dialogue. Matt was the most fleshed out character of all of them. That being said, I feel like the chance of character development was dropped. At some point, he starts acting like he wants to be a part of the crime family, but then just as quickly stops doing that, and I think it could’ve been explored better.

Matt and Jason like a lot of the same stuff, like the same exact video games or movies, which kept being pointed out to the point of being slightly irritating.

One thing I will say was positive was Matt’s inner thoughts. I’m sure they will hit some gay teenagers out in the world as he discusses coming out but not being out to everyone and unrealistic body standards.
The book started alright for me, but the last 20% of the book really ruined it for me. Because Matt went from a character I could relate to and even sympathize with to losing all sympathy, I can’t give this more than one star.

I’m not going to fault the author for this, but I have issue with the cover. For the life of me, I never saw any mention that either Matt or Jason were people of color. I highlighted two instances where they were described as “pale.” It was, however, my assumption based on the cover, that one boy would be white, and one would be a person of color.

So here’s my problem with the ending. At the very end, Matt’s dad decides to go through with basically planning a massacre against the other crime family. Matt is, understandably, horrified, and has no idea what to do. He goes to Jason, who by this point, they have broken up because of the cop thing. Jason’s suggestion is to just leave the crime business, which would potentially lead to family members being killed. And Matt goes through with it. Just like that. Even though it was already established that he got angry at the death of a family member he didn’t even like. This felt so out of character for him. The only reason the massacre doesn’t go through is because off page, for no clearly plotted out reason, the dad calls off the massacre and a semblance of peace is established between the two families.

One more thing, Jason explicitly emotionally manipulates Matt into sharing family secrets because he’s the son of a cop. They never really address that part, even though Jason says he is sorry, and it’s just a time skip away that they get back together.

It hurts me to do this, but one star. The ending really ruined Matt and Jason’s character for me.

Im giving this 5 stars by default becausew the formatting for the Kindle is sooo bad! If this wouldn't impact the reading score I wouldnt have to post a review at all

The Friend Scheme by Cale Dietrich is a new gay romance novel targeting the young adult market. Before analyzing the book itself, I want to thank the publisher for allowing me to read this book prior to its publication date. Although I thank the publisher, the following review is not influenced by their generosity.

The Friend Scheme is basically a modern Romeo and Juliet type story with two teenagers. Instead of it being a hatred between the Montagues and Capulets, this story centers on two teenage boys who belong to two opposing mob clans. On one side, you have Matt, the loner, an angsty teen who really isn't too keen on being involved in the family business. On the other, you have Jason, an all-American baseball player type who also isn't too keen on the family business even if he doesn't see a way out.

Without spoiling anything, the two boys meet, and at first, they make an agreement not to talk about their mutual families. One of the boys knows who the other one is, but the other is blissfully clueless. Ultimately, the two fall in love, but when the one finds out about the other and feels betrayed can this relationship stand the test of time?

As a whole, this book is filled with the typical angsty teenage-tropes one would expect to find in this type of novel. Is this novel groundbreaking? Not in the least. Is this novel a fun read? Yes. As a cute and mindless summer read, I would definitely recommend it as a pleasant escape.

I dearly wish I could say more positive things about this book. The Friend Scheme was poised to be a twisty, dark, crime-filled novel about the son of a crime family, but unfortunately several things about it fell flat for me.

One of the most enjoyable things for me was the Romeo and Juliet, enemies-to-lovers romance. I’m a sucker for this storyline, and I think it’s one of the finest ways to bring out character development. Matt and Jason’s relationship was hindered by Matt’s reticence to reveal anything about his family—being the heir to a criminal society means you spend a lot of time fearing discovery, I suppose. Matt’s relationship with his family was interesting for me—his love for them and his desire to live a more innocent life added tension to the story.

My biggest disappointment was the writing style. The entire book felt flat and bland, with pages of meaningless and hollow dialogue occupying too much space. I wish the story could have been written in a more emotive way, because I think I would have felt more for the characters that way. I don’t want to be too much of a critic of writing style, because some of that is inherent to an author and part of what lends the book individuality, but in this case it seriously inhibited my enjoyment.

I don’t know if I’m a terrible analytic reader, but I genuinely didn’t see the plot twist coming. The narrative had me fully convinced of its honesty, and then did a total 180 that left me reeling (and desperately hoping for Matt and Jason’s love story to survive). Despite being slightly dry from lack of interesting dialogue, I will say that The Friend Scheme is inherently readable. 4/5 stars, and I definitely recommend giving it a try!

I was really intrigued by the premise of this book and SO excited when I got the ARC... But when I started reading, it let me down immediately. It's described as "part romance, part thriller," but it fails to be good at either. The writing is clunky, the dialog meanders, and there's no romantic tension between the leads. The main character feels flat and underdeveloped, and very little happens up to the 30% mark, where I finally gave up reading and DNF'd it. There are absolutely no thriller elements in the part I read, and the "plot twist" I imagine is coming later was very predictable. Maybe the book turns into an amazing thrill ride, but it's not worth the slog in the beginning.

I received an advanced copy of The Friend Scheme from Netgalley so I could share my review with you!

As the son of one of the most notorious crime lords in the city, Matt is constantly lying about who he is. The kids at school don’t know his real name, his father doesn’t know that he hates hurting people, and no one knows that he is gay. Matt has wrapped his identity in so many layers of secrecy that even he can’t quite tell what is the truth and what is a lie. He feels incredibly alone, until he has a chance encounter with a beautiful boy who makes him wonder if there could be a different way to live his life. As the two grow closer, it becomes clear that they aren’t on the same side of this war. Is a shot at love worth sacrificing everything? More importantly, will Matt even survive to make that choice?

You can get your copy of The Friend Scheme from Feiwel and Friends on July 28th!

Cale Dietrich stepped up his game in The Friend Scheme! I loved the push and pull of the storyline and I found the characters to be extremely easy to empathize with. I recently went on a huge Grand Theft Auto V playing streak, so this book found me at just the right time! I’ve never encountered a mafia crime story that I could see myself reflected in, so reading The Friend Scheme was both fun and refreshing! At times the plot did seem to drag for me, but overall I thought it was an enjoyable read.

My Recommendation-
If you have been looking for a high stakes forbidden romance set in a crime underworld, The Friend Scheme would be a good pick for your next read! If you enjoyed The Love Interest, Dietrich’s other novel, this book should definitely be on your to-read list!

It's a fun and tension-filled comedic drama. It's quickly evident that Matt and Jason's meet-cute is going to lead to romance. Yet, it's quickly telegraphed that the road to love is going to be very complicated. There is a little bit of misdirection before you realize what's going on, yet it's worth weeding through to see where the real story is going.

If you like YA novels and appreciate LGBT representation, this is a good story for you.

Sadly, this is a DNF for me. I got through about 30% of the book and I coudn't keep going. I didn't feel a connection to any of the characters and the writing fell flat for me. Keep in mind, this is just my opinion, I can see reasons why others would love this story!

Oh boy, I wanted to like this one. I really, really, REALLY wanted to like this one. The Love Interest was one of my favorite reads from last year, it was silly and stupid and so much fun. I had high hopes for The Friend Scheme, but my expectations were not met even slightly. I always feel guilty giving negative reviews, especially when I like the author overall, so buckle up as I attempt to write down my cohesive thoughts, albeit negative.

I feel a little bit bad for the timing of this release- it’s a love story between a cop’s son and a gangster’s son, the cop’s son being a white kid and the gangster’s being a black one. It felt a little tone deaf because of that, which was hard. I couldn’t shake the feeling of the #ownvoices marketing, when it was just a white gay guy who was writing from the perspective of a black kid who was raised in a criminal empire. Though, this isn’t really me wanting to cause any massive problems, just something that didn’t sit well with me as I was reading.

Overall, a lot of the elements of Cale Dietrich’s writing style that I loved in The Love Interest really didn’t come into play in this book. The characters had very little chemistry, and a lot of the relationships and emotions were spoonfed to the reader. Despite being a high action premise, there was no palpable suspense for me. I had a hard time caring about the characters or the dynamics because the world seemed to be just cookie cutter cliches piled on top of each other. I think if Dietrich had gone the satirical route, like he’d done in The Love Interest, he could’ve made me enjoy the world and it’s plastic appearance a little more, but the book seems like it wants me to find real, hard-hitting feelings in this book where I can’t find any.

I will say that I’m still a big fan of Dietrich’s general sense of humor, and the chapter titles were endearing. If you don’t like this book, don’t write off Cale Dietrich just yet- you might love The Love Interest.

Matt Miller is the son of the city’s most notorious crime boss. Though his father hopes he’ll follow in his footsteps, Matt has other dreams. When his family’s biggest rival comes up with a plan to infiltrate their ranks, Matt has to be suspicious of everyone, including that new boy he met that he might be falling in love with.

YA + organized crime + a gay protagonist = pretty much made for me. I wanted to love this one so bad because it’s honestly such a good premise, but a lot of it fell kind of flat.

It took too long for this one to get going and it felt like about 75% of the dialogue between Matt and Jason was unnecessary, not to mention awkward and stilted. I also had a hard time buying their love story too. Maybe because the dialogue was a little clunky, but I didn't really see them as falling in love the way it was described in the book.

I spent the whole first part wishing there was just a little more focus on the organized crime aspects (I’m a true crime buff), so I was happy to see that pick up in the second half. I found everything with the crime families the most interesting but in the end it felt underdeveloped. I would have liked to have seen more about the Donovan and Miller rivalry and how that was affecting Matt's life and his relationship with Jason.

Also, as a heads up, Jason’s identity is spoiled in the synopsis given on netgalley.

I received this an ARC of this book from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a great modern take on Romeo and Juliet... with a twist.

Matt Miller is the son of a crime boss and he hates it! He loves his family, but while his big brother Luke is made for this life, Matt is made of softer stuff. The feud between the Millers and the Donovans and their respective territories is all consuming. When it has come to the Millers' attention that there is this thing called the friend scheme floating around, in which Donovans and Donovan allies have infiltrated the Miller clan, posing as friends and Miller allies, Matt is devastated assuming the boy he just met, Jason, with all of his beautiful-ness, is actually scamming him, getting close only to get inside information for the other crime family.

This was so much fun to read. I loved the writing and the different twists (some I saw coming, others I didn't). Matt and Jason's relationship was a thing of beauty. They were constantly fighting between what their families would want and what they want, which is without a doubt each other.

There really was nothing about this book that I didn't love. The fade to black love scenes were tasteful and the end?!?!?! It was everything I was hoping for!

***Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for providing me an ARC of THE FRIEND SCHEME by Cale Dietrich in exchange for my honest review.***

3/5

This book was an entertaining and okay read. I was really looking forward to this book and though I personally do not think that it lived up to the hype, I did still enjoy it. I was personally super excited to read it because of the whole organized crime/forbidden romance plot.

Just like his prior novel, I still felt like there was a rush in the relationship between the two main characters, but that is not my my main issue with this book. I was just kind of disappointed that it is not at all gritty. When I first read the premise on Goodreads I thought that I would be getting into a book about organized crime, danger, morally questionable characters, etc., instead I found myself going "aww how sweet" rather then thinking about bigger topics and ideas that I think could have made this book and its characters more fleshed out. Although this is more of a problem with my expectations and not the book itself, I do think that if you are writing about topics that deal with violence and crime it should be a large part of the story (for example someone was killed in the story and literally the next page the main character was just thinking about his date... I just wanted some type of inner turmoil and reflection)

Writing:
-The writing in this book is okay. I do think that it is a step up from his prior book, The Love Interest, but there is still room for improvement (for me it was hard not to have a lot of description, especially about what the characters and locations look like)

Pacing:
-The pacing in this book was a bit of a problem for me. At times it was faster paced and fun, while at most points in the story I found myself to be kind of bored, I do think that I was expecting a fast faced crime driven novel and this is certainly not it

Characters:
-I really liked the characters (LGBT), but I just wish that we got to know them better

-I will recommend for a fun summer read!!

I picked up this book for the Romero & Juliet gay mob premise which sounded like a lot of fun and for the most part, the book delivers until it hits the fourth act where all of the tension suddenly collapses. It's a shame because I really enjoyed reading up until the end but the outcomes to leaving home felt too easy and sanitized after such a high body count and stakes through the rest of the book.

You know how some books you devoir in one sitting because you can't help yourself, and other books you have to force yourself to pace, because you know reading them too quickly will thoroughly mess you up and leave you in a book hangover for a solid week? THE FRIEND SCHEME is one of those special latter books.

I really enjoyed this book. Seriously. I can already tell that a lot of folks are going to have some trouble with the writing style, because it's not exactly verbose, but it <i>does</i> remind me of how a teenager would probably speak and perceive the world, which I found strangely endearing and really helped put me into Matt's head. Also, strangely enough, the pop culture references in this book were well done, too; most of the time, in YA books of this particular breed, the constant barrage of references to things in media at the time of publication drives me insane, but in this book? It felt fresh. Unique. Dorky in a way that served to further develop the characters rather than showing how cool and with-the-times the author wants you to think they are. Was it overdone? Maybe. Some people will probably say it was. But in my opinion, it went far enough over the line to cross back into "okay" territory for me, and I actually really liked it. I guess we'll see how well that holds up in a few years when I reread it!

Because that's the thing - I really want to reread this book already. This is one of those stories that would probably be just as fun to go through again, knowing what I know now about the characters and where the story goes. I think that has to do with the use of thriller tropes in an already fairly short YA novel; I breezed through this entire book in the span of probably four hours tops, but I spread it out over the course of a week because I wanted to really savor it. The pacing's great, the intrigue is fascinating, and I never felt like one part of the plot was doing more heavy lifting than the other. It all ties together really well at the end. Nothing felt wasted.

This was just a clean, easy, fun read. I went into it completely blind, other than knowing it was a queer YA own voices novel (aka my jam), and I'm really glad I did.

Thank you to the lovely beans at Macmillan for the NetGalley arc!!

2.5* rounded up. Essentially, Romeo and Juliet a la Mafia, but more gay.

I don't hold anything against this book. I think it's great that we in the LGBT+ community are finally getting more books that are just plain nonsense, books in which the whole being LGBT thing isn't the whole conflict (or in this case, the conflict at all). This is definitely a great hi-lo book for an older teen guy, which I can also get behind. However, it very definitely did not live up to my hopes for it.

The thing that took it from being a solid 3-star book to being a 2.5 star book was the amount of pop culture references that were just shotgunned on to the page. There just wasn't enough time spent on any of them to make it feel like anything other than really rapid name-dropping among some dialogue that was already pretty awkward. I spend a lot of time with teens around this age (both interacting with and overhearing), and the dialogue was not remotely realistic, which threw me a little too. There was also an awful lot of suspension of disbelief required for the last 30% of the book and I honestly just wasn't sold enough to give it.

Overall, I would recommend this book for a teen looking for something easier to read but still thematically and interest-wise appropriate for their age, but for more advanced or older readers, I think it's a no-sale.

Seventeen-year-old Matt Miller never wanted to be a criminal. But since his father is a powerful mob boss, and his golden-boy of an older brother is next in line, Matt is expected to follow his family’s legacy. Then, he meets fellow teen, Jason, and the two spark a secret friendship—and possibly something more—that will change everything.

The Friend Scheme is a new young adult novel from Cale Dietrich, centering around a ‘forbidden romance’ between the son of a mob boss and his mysterious new friend. The core concept shines with the potential for thrilling action, an examination of criminal politics, and, of course, angsty romantic tension. However, the execution is, unfortunately, lacking. While the first few pages showed promise, the voice was soon too detached to keep my attention, or connect me with either main character. And despite enjoy the queer twist on this Romeo and Juliet type of tale, the stilted dialogue between Matt and Jason dimmed any possibility for an organic connection between them.

I particularly wanted to know more about the Millers' history and reputation as a crime syndicate, but sadly there wasn’t enough page-time spent on the subject, nor on Matt’s complicated relationship with his family, beyond their domineering parenting style. Instead, I yearned for a more extensive dive into the ruthless inner workings of this major criminal organization. Moreover, the moments which captivated me most as as reader were the subtle critiques of the heteronormative, toxic masculinity imposed upon Matt by Mafia culture, as well as his vehement rejection of these deeply harmful gender constructs.

Overall, The Friend Scheme is an engaging story at heart with a unique twist on the forbidden romance trope.

(Pine Reads Review would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing us with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.)