Thank you to Feiwel & Friends for sharing a copy in exchange for my honest review.
High schooler Matt's father is rich, powerful, and seemingly untouchable—a criminal with high hopes that his son will follow in his footsteps. Matt's older brother Luke seems poised to do just that, with a bevy of hot girls in tow. But Matt has other ambitions—and attractions. And attraction sometimes doesn't allow for good judgement. Matt wouldn't have guessed that when he makes a new friend, one who is also carrying a secret. The boys' connection turns romantic, a first for both. Now Matt must decide if he can ever do the impossible and come clean about who he really is, and who he is meant to love. 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!
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The BaronessHey, I'm Shreya! I love to read, write, travel, and drink tea. Disclosure: I am an affiliate of bookshop.org and I will earn a small commission if you click the above link and make a purchase.
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