Reviews

The Friend Scheme by Cale Dietrich

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saffron42's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious slow-paced

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

3.5

fallingwings's review against another edition

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2.0

DNF @ Chapter 16

Nope. Nope, nada, uh-uh. This was not what I was expecting. I thought once the (supposedly?) big revelation came to light for our protagonist, things would change. Nothing changed and this is why I'm putting it down.

Cons:

× I'm wondering how close Matt is to the TSTL trope. Seriously, he makes some questionable choices. You don't need to be book or street smart to have common sense. Something I would hope was engraved in you if you were raised in a gangster family. I just can't understand why this character acts so naive and gullible. I get having a crush on someone, but damn, it should not make someone literally stupid.

Spoiler

For example, when Jason admits to who he is (after having to be confronted by Matt) and that he had a part in the scheme in order to get close to Matt, he then proceeds to tell Matt that he had thrown the plan away back when they "clicked" after first talking with each other for a few minutes and Matt believes him, mostly. Who the hell would believe that? And what's worse is that this is supposed to be his enemy, an enemy who could be feeding information about him to his family, and Matt still continues to see him. I just...where is the logic here?

× Matt keeps reminding us on almost every page that Jason is hot or sexy or good looking, to the point where both the writing and the character come off as juvenile.

× Matt doesn't want to be a part of the family "business". He's soft and not interested in committing crimes. I love it. But I can't really feel bad for him when he 1) hasn't even tried to tell his family and 2) we don't really see "why" he doesn't want to be a part of the family business. Is it guilt? Is his consciousness screaming at him? Does he worry about hurting people? Does the possibility of death or prison scare him? Do the rules of right and wrong make him conflicted? Is he scared of his family? Like, WHY does he not want to do these things like his family? You can't just tell me he's a soft boy who has no muscles, and isn't book smart, thus will never be like his father and brother as a reason.

× The writing is a bit on the simplistic side. Also, overuse of many words ("cool", "man", "like", um, says, asks, etc).

× Matt doesn't have friends and claims he can't make friends because he just doesn't click with people. Look, I get it. I am the epitome of being socially awkward and not being able to mesh with people, especially groups of people. Many aren't "drawn" to me. I'm not a social butterfly, I don't follow the crowd, I'm an introvert and I don't like being around other people for longer than nessecary most days. But at the end of the day, it's still my choice on what I do and yes, this involves making friends. Everything requires effort in some manner, and it honestly doesn't sound like Matt's ever tried to make friends of his own volition. So I couldn't bother caring everytime he brought this "issue" up.

× The mob family and romeo x juliet theme is used purely just to put some conflict in, but it's really non-existent with a few minor exceptions. This book mainly revolves around Matt's infatuation with Jason and the relationship between them. It's tooth rotting fluff with pounds of sugar added on top. It's way too sweet and fluffy for me personally. This was pretty much the main and biggest reason I had to put it down.

Pros:

× Matt has insta attraction, but this is in no way insta love, and I appreciate this so much. There is a difference from being attracted to someone and actually being in love with them. Many authors, especially YA authors, don't seem to understand that. This wasn't the case here.

× Matt's dog.

× The sprinkles of gangster things.

blazenaat's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

strangeclaykitty's review against another edition

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2.0

my og review from the 7th of november:
"i-... hHiwOqaodhsiaiw77h2bdjciai3iur so-
....
???? ok im
i have no idea" (☆☆)

oK its been some time since i finished the book and after thinking ab it, ill give it 2,5 and ill actually talk ab it

(btw i havent read the book in a month so its all pretty much from memory so.........)

ill start with their first few interactions. in 2 words, fast and stupid.
both in a good and bad way, since it actually makes sense by the end of the book. but at the same time... you spend majority of your reading time thinking "lol this is so stupid". tbh nothing wrong w that, i personally like that kinda stuff lolol, it keeps me entertained:^).
but still

bookishslut's review

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4.0

I feel sad at a happy ending. like- there was no big shit to it, at least to me. BUT THE HAPPY ENDING THO- LIKE AHHH
I liked it.

thepetitepunk's review

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4.0

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Friend Scheme is a Romeo and Juliet type story following Matt and Jason, two teenage boys who start to fall for each other despite being from rival families. As their relationship advances, they must keep secrets from their families and each other as they figure out where their loyalties lie.

I thought this was a super fun, fast-paced story about forbidden love and identity. The romance was great and I liked the characters. There were quite a few twists that kept me engaged. I also appreciated the conversations about being queer. I honestly had a hard time putting this one down!

However, I think The Friend Scheme should have been marketed differently. This was really just a romance. I would have loved to see more of the thriller aspect in this story because I felt like it was really only briefly touched upon. I loved the romance, but if the goal of this book was to be more than a contemporary romance, then I think there should have been a bit more action, emotion, and twists outside of Matt and Jason’s relationship. The Friend Scheme had the potential to be so much bigger.

I also have a feeling that this book is going to be pretty hit or miss based on age group. I personally enjoyed the rather simplistic, short writing and the plethora of pop-culture references, but if a reader doesn’t mostly read YA or doesn’t know most of the shows/movies/bands/songs/video games/etc. mentioned then I could see these aspects becoming a bit annoying. But again, for me personally, I thought this writing style was enjoying.

Overall, The Friend Scheme is a quick story about love and secrets. I’d definitely recommend this to someone looking for something simple, cute, and entertaining with relatable gay representation.