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A review by thepetitepunk
The Friend Scheme by Cale Dietrich
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.
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.