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The Friend Scheme

The Friend Scheme

  • Downloads：2274
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-08-26 09:50:59
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Cale Dietrich
  • ISBN：1250791952
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Summary

Part thriller， part romance， The Friend Scheme is another twisty #ownvoices YA novel from Cale Dietrich， author of The Love Interest。

Matt’s father is a criminal with high hopes that his son will follow in his footsteps。 His family is at war with another， and Matt’s dad is caught in the crossfire。 Matt and his older brother are expected to fight for their family。 But deep down Matt has other ambitions—and attractions。

When he meets Jason， Matt believes he might be falling deeper than friendship for the first time。 The boys keep their connection a secret， and soon Matt suspects that Jason is part of the family that tried to kill his father。 The truth， however， is even more shattering， and Matt must decide if he can ever break free and own who he really is and who he is meant to love。

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Reviews

Owen Sellers ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Overall， I did enjoy the book， but sometimes I found myself getting bored and I would end up abandoning the book for weeks before eventually picking it up again。At the beginning， I was like "Whoa - big surprise - Jason is from the rival family。 That's totally not an overused trope at all"I was pleased that there was a twist because it definitely got me more interested in the book。The part I'm most disappointed in， however， is the ending。 It was so anti-climatic。。。 His dad is just like "Yeah， sur Overall， I did enjoy the book， but sometimes I found myself getting bored and I would end up abandoning the book for weeks before eventually picking it up again。At the beginning， I was like "Whoa - big surprise - Jason is from the rival family。 That's totally not an overused trope at all"I was pleased that there was a twist because it definitely got me more interested in the book。The part I'm most disappointed in， however， is the ending。 It was so anti-climatic。。。 His dad is just like "Yeah， sure， you can go to California"I was expecting there to be way more fighting or arguing or something， but nope。 All in all， I'm happy things worked out for Jason and Matt in the end。 。。。more

aspen ，

concept was there， it was good。 i enjoyed it for a little bit but then it got stale， but not enough that i had to stop midway， so i did finish it。 it was okay

Justine ，

Won’t lie， I skimmed through the last 80 pages just because I wanted to know how it ended。 Not at all what I was expecting， the characters were awkward and I thought the story was going to be so better than it was。 Maybe my expectations were too high…everything was a lot fluffier that I thought。 Two stars just because there were some moments where Matt and Jason’s interactions were cute， though that is a reach…

sakol ，

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 AHHHI liked it。

Alexandr Great ，

Rated it 2。5 （2 in here） because it feels like it's lacking。 The description made me interested in the book seeing that it's about mafia but there really ain't the much "mafia" stuff or action in it （or maybe I'm just bias because I've read The Foxhole Court series）。 If you want a modern rendition of Romeo and Juliet （but make it gay） then this book is for you。 The main characters are cute but I kinda hate the way they think sometimes。 Rated it 2。5 （2 in here） because it feels like it's lacking。 The description made me interested in the book seeing that it's about mafia but there really ain't the much "mafia" stuff or action in it （or maybe I'm just bias because I've read The Foxhole Court series）。 If you want a modern rendition of Romeo and Juliet （but make it gay） then this book is for you。 The main characters are cute but I kinda hate the way they think sometimes。 。。。more

Kat ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 3。5/5 starsI didn't like how a lot of the conflicts were handled and the ending was meh。 I kinda cared for Jason at the start but then got turned off when I found out he was a cop， son of one but still。 I did like Luke a lot but not until the end because he seemed too good towards Matt， I wasn't expecting him to actually care for Matt。 Speaking of， I didn't really care for Matt。 Then they introducrd Cassidy but she ended up being such a really minor character and only appeared for 5 paragraphs， 3。5/5 starsI didn't like how a lot of the conflicts were handled and the ending was meh。 I kinda cared for Jason at the start but then got turned off when I found out he was a cop， son of one but still。 I did like Luke a lot but not until the end because he seemed too good towards Matt， I wasn't expecting him to actually care for Matt。 Speaking of， I didn't really care for Matt。 Then they introducrd Cassidy but she ended up being such a really minor character and only appeared for 5 paragraphs， I thought she'd be a more important character。 I thought the gang part of this would have more significance but the biggest thing that happened， aside from their father getting shot which doesn't count because it happened off-page， was getting shot at by the Donovans。 。。。more

Al ，

I loved it up until the twist literally fucking hated it

Judit ，

1。5 La intención era buena， la ejecución no tanto。Es un retelling de Romeo y Julieta con los hijos de bandas rivales de mafiosos， el problema pero， es la falta de conexión entre ellos。 Lo he visto muy forzado y todos diálogos entre ellos son de lo más incomodos y cringe。 Supongo que también tiene algo que ver cómo está escrito el libro。 Me ha parecido un poco infantil。 Eso en sí no tiene nada malo pero teniendo en cuenta que este libro va de mafias， pues yo me esperaba alguna escena más dura o u 1。5 La intención era buena， la ejecución no tanto。Es un retelling de Romeo y Julieta con los hijos de bandas rivales de mafiosos， el problema pero， es la falta de conexión entre ellos。 Lo he visto muy forzado y todos diálogos entre ellos son de lo más incomodos y cringe。 Supongo que también tiene algo que ver cómo está escrito el libro。 Me ha parecido un poco infantil。 Eso en sí no tiene nada malo pero teniendo en cuenta que este libro va de mafias， pues yo me esperaba alguna escena más dura o un protagonista más maduro que no soltara la palabra "dude" cada tres frases。El primer 40% es entretenido a pesar de tener momentos muy inverosímiles pero hacia el final del libro se hace todo muy repetitivo。 El conflicto todo el rato es el mismo， los diálogos apenas varían y da la sensación que no se avanza。 Desde luego yo me esperaba otra cosa。 。。。more

Quill Burke ，

4。4/5“Even though I resist it， everyone in my family wants me to be a part of this world。And that’s kind of the appeal of being a criminal。Whatever you want， you get。”Matt is part of a crime family in Florida。 He meets Jason one night and immediately they become close friends， and then something more。 But when Matt starts suspecting that Jason is part of a rival family， the Donovan’s， things start going downhill。 I really enjoyed reading this！ It has a very Romeo-and-Juliet vibe， but is obviousl 4。4/5“Even though I resist it， everyone in my family wants me to be a part of this world。And that’s kind of the appeal of being a criminal。Whatever you want， you get。”Matt is part of a crime family in Florida。 He meets Jason one night and immediately they become close friends， and then something more。 But when Matt starts suspecting that Jason is part of a rival family， the Donovan’s， things start going downhill。 I really enjoyed reading this！ It has a very Romeo-and-Juliet vibe， but is obviously very modern。 I love all the music mentioned （The Killers， You Me At Six， With Confidence， etc） and how you really feel like you’re there when you read it。 I also found Matt to be a very relatable character， which makes the whole story that much more interesting， even if the plot isn’t very realistic。 I rate this 4 stars instead of 5 because a portion of the book is devoted to Matt being afraid of talking to Jason about his family。 This makes sense， but I think it was brought up a little TOO much， even if it’s very important to the plot。 Also， the ending was very fast-paced and unfulfilling， and the whole plot of the book is very minimal and character-dependant。 This book is less about plot and more about the relationship between Matt and Jason （which I like， but I know many other people find boring）。 I’d recommend this to anyone who enjoys thrillers， lgbt books， and Romeo and Juliet like books。 Also for anyone who is a fan of the All For The Game or Captive Prince series。 Trigger warning for the book include small mentions of homophobia， as well as violence （like setting fires and firing guns）。 。。。more

Martina ，

Ho preso in mano questo libro， nonostante le diverse recensioni negative。 L'ho trovato carino di per sé。 La storia è semplice e piuttosto cliché， ma funziona bene per una lettura leggera。 È praticamente volata。Ma passiamo alle note dolenti。I dialoghi della famiglia Miller sono buoni， ma i dialoghi tra Jason e Matt sono forzati e strani， specialmente nella prima parte。 Capisco che entrambi siano giovani e impacciati ma non scorrono proprio。Lo stile è molto ripetitivo all'inizio， per poi rimanere Ho preso in mano questo libro， nonostante le diverse recensioni negative。 L'ho trovato carino di per sé。 La storia è semplice e piuttosto cliché， ma funziona bene per una lettura leggera。 È praticamente volata。Ma passiamo alle note dolenti。I dialoghi della famiglia Miller sono buoni， ma i dialoghi tra Jason e Matt sono forzati e strani， specialmente nella prima parte。 Capisco che entrambi siano giovani e impacciati ma non scorrono proprio。Lo stile è molto ripetitivo all'inizio， per poi rimanere lineare e poco descrittivo。 Il conflitto finale si è risolto decisamente troppo in fretta， quasi come se l'autore volesse chiuderla lì。Diciamo che ero partita con poche aspettative e il libro si è rivelato scorrevole。 L'ho finito in mezza giornata， senza problemi。 。。。more

Mailen ，

no

Meagan （FranticVampireReads） ，

。。。。。。。。。。。。。3。25 stars。。。。。。。。。。。。。Wow， this book gave me such mixed feelings and I’m honestly not sure how to process it。 On the one hand， I loved this so much。 And on the other， I just wanted so much more from this book。 Like， the enjoyment factor was definitely there， but it’s got some problems。I loved that Matt was so anxious about being in the family business and realizing that it was just not for him。 Also， it felt like Matt was written as autistic or at least somewhere on the neurodiverg 。。。。。。。。。。。。。3。25 stars。。。。。。。。。。。。。Wow， this book gave me such mixed feelings and I’m honestly not sure how to process it。 On the one hand， I loved this so much。 And on the other， I just wanted so much more from this book。 Like， the enjoyment factor was definitely there， but it’s got some problems。I loved that Matt was so anxious about being in the family business and realizing that it was just not for him。 Also， it felt like Matt was written as autistic or at least somewhere on the neurodivergent spectrum。 It was so nice！ I really loved that he was so happy to make a new friend！ That was utterly precious and he needs to be protected at all costs。 And the fact that Jason was also really happy to make a friend （even if it was under some dubious circumstances）。 I also really loved Luke as a big brother！ He’s so supportive and loving to Matt。 I would die for him！ The last thing that I loved was that this didn’t have a lot of the usual teenage drama that comes with YA contemporary books。The things that I didn’t like were numerous。 But the number one being the gaslighting。 Like holy shit， there was a lot of it！ I just wanted to slap Jason every time he started pushing Matt to talk about his family and then turning it around on him and making Matt feel like a bad friend for not talking。 I just。。。I didn’t like it， at all。 There were also a couple of comments that came off as aphobic and they just didn’t need to be in this book。 Another thing that I didn’t like was that there were so many little plot holes。 Like， did Matt come out to his dad？ Did he tell his dad about Jason？ Did anyone figure out if the guy they killed was a cop？？ And a few other things that just didn’t add up in the end。As you can see my thoughts are mixed。 The story was so enjoyed and fun to read， but there were some problems with it。 And in the end it’s a little hard for me to justify giving this more than a 3。25 stars。 But don’t let that deter you from reading this！ It’s such a good read！ 。。。more

K ，

I quite enjoyed it。 I thought it was simple， cute & the characters were adorable。 I liked the world， it was something different from what I usually read。 I liked that Matt & Jason didn't fall in love or into anything straight away - that's something I've noticed in BL books， that the main leads always just jump into each other - they know nothing about each other yet start dating/going out。 Like， why？ This had some reality to it， it was awkward & embarrassing at times but they were getting to kn I quite enjoyed it。 I thought it was simple， cute & the characters were adorable。 I liked the world， it was something different from what I usually read。 I liked that Matt & Jason didn't fall in love or into anything straight away - that's something I've noticed in BL books， that the main leads always just jump into each other - they know nothing about each other yet start dating/going out。 Like， why？ This had some reality to it， it was awkward & embarrassing at times but they were getting to know each other。 I also liked the awareness & respect they had for each other， the support， they were for one another - & it was a friendship， which is what both of them wanted。 I honestly didn't see that twist coming yet I knew something was up because Jason kept pushing the family thing。 I also did think the ending was lacking， it was just like， yep， that's it。 I would have liked to。。。I don't know， read it developed or some opposition from his family， but it was still good。 。。。more

Lauren McHugh ，

Honestly wanted to like this book。 I thought it would be a fun read to pass the time but it was so bad i had to nearly stop reading entirely。 I stuck it out only for the ending to be just as disappointing as the rest。 While I thought the idea was interesting （if not a bit fanfic-esque）， it fell flat in so many ways。 The two main characters shared all the same interests and most dialogue between them was one dying what niche interest they had and the other saying "WOW me too！"。 This happened prob Honestly wanted to like this book。 I thought it would be a fun read to pass the time but it was so bad i had to nearly stop reading entirely。 I stuck it out only for the ending to be just as disappointing as the rest。 While I thought the idea was interesting （if not a bit fanfic-esque）， it fell flat in so many ways。 The two main characters shared all the same interests and most dialogue between them was one dying what niche interest they had and the other saying "WOW me too！"。 This happened probably upwards of 20 times in the book。 It doesn't make for a good romance to read about and is （in my opinion） a cop-out in writing to make the two characters be a good fit for one another beyond something as superficial as interests。 The characterization of both main characters and their families was 。。。 bizarre？ It still had some cute moments and fun lines in there。 I can't recommend it to anyone looking for some amazing read， but as just a way to mindlessly pass the time it will certainly do just that。 。。。more

Anouk ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 the two main characters， matt and jason， have way too much in common for it to be realistic and the same phrases are often used to describe a thing that was mentioned maybe three times before that already。 and not only is it said multiple times， the same words are used for it as well， most of the time， not even referencing the first time it i written， making me sometimes wonder if i read that already。other than the two main characters and very few other characters （like matt's brother） everyone the two main characters， matt and jason， have way too much in common for it to be realistic and the same phrases are often used to describe a thing that was mentioned maybe three times before that already。 and not only is it said multiple times， the same words are used for it as well， most of the time， not even referencing the first time it i written， making me sometimes wonder if i read that already。other than the two main characters and very few other characters （like matt's brother） everyone is kinda bland and doesn't seem to have any kind of depth in their personality。 especially matt's family members often have one trait they are defined by。 a lot of conversations between matt and jason seem so shallow and empty。 the only thing matt seems to get flustered about is how jason looks or what he says but i didn't get that sense of being in love or those small things making your heart jump when you like someone。apart from matt mentioning a lot that he is the black sheep and the family disapproves of him， there isn't really a moment where you can actually see this。 it feels like an unreal fact that got added last second to make his character more dramatic or anything like that， but it was too much effort to change the behavior of the other characters that apparently don't think well of him。 even his dad only had one or two scenes where he actually disapprove of matt and those where in stressful situations and to be honest not very believable that he actually meant it like that。general things that could happen in the mafia are sometimes portrayed as just going against a traditions but somehow leaving out that it could cost them a lot。a thing i liked， that there was actually a story around the romance and jason wasn't involved in everything that happened。 matt had his own story to deal with and even if it was unrealistic and often very shallow and not really emotional， i liked that it had two story lines。 on top of that， matt wasn't the one in the end to save the day and be the hero of the story， which i quite liked。even though a lot of scenes seemed like they were written on the spot， because characters switched up on themselves pretty often， id say i liked the end。 。。。more

Javier Conde ，

3。5 ⭐ Huh， I guess I was expecting something worse from this book。 I liked it。I need to say first that I read this book with no expectations nor reading the synopsis at all， and don't get me wrong。 The story is sometimes kind of underwhelming because it's cataloged like a part thriller/part romance book， but it's not a thriller at all。 This book is more like a Romeo and Juliet retelling， but with two mafia gangs in Florida。 What can I say？ I'm up for that。Okay， things that I liked。 I liked Matt 3。5 ⭐ Huh， I guess I was expecting something worse from this book。 I liked it。I need to say first that I read this book with no expectations nor reading the synopsis at all， and don't get me wrong。 The story is sometimes kind of underwhelming because it's cataloged like a part thriller/part romance book， but it's not a thriller at all。 This book is more like a Romeo and Juliet retelling， but with two mafia gangs in Florida。 What can I say？ I'm up for that。Okay， things that I liked。 I liked Matt and Jason's relationship。 They were so cute， and their friendship felt so real and yet so。。。 weird at the same time。 I also liked all the pop culture references inside this book （Ari and Dante， The Grishaverse， and so on， that was cool to read）。 And now some weak points。 Matt was exasperating for the whole first half of the book， deciding if he should trust Jason or not。 I just wanted to yell at him， "Bitch， stop it。 I guess I don't know what else to say without making a spoiler， but that ending was so。。。 easy？ I don't know， guys。 I don't know。I don't know how to review this book。 Help。 I liked it， but I can't think right now。 I'll probably edit this review later。 。。。more

Jesse ，

I should’ve DNF-ed this after 100 pages。 🙄 Its one ⭐️ is for the cover。 The writing is just…bad。 I skimmed most of it hoping it would redeem itself at the end， but it was somehow worse！ Ugh。

Katty （Libros y Risas） ，

3，5🌟

Emily ，

*3。5

Irving！ ，

Im not the type of person who like cheesy and over the top romantic stories。 Specially if those have bad endings。This is just not my type of book is not bad but not for me。 Giving 3/5 just because the part of the family business is quite interesting。

Matthew ，

So， I went straight into this book after finishing Cale Dietrich’s other book， “The Love Interest” （3。5 stars; you can read my review on my profile， if you’re so inclined） and while I definitely did enjoy both， I have to say that “The Friend Scheme” was definitely the better of the two！ Our story follows the character of Matt Miller， a gay， film-obsessed teen， whose father just so happens to be the boss of one of the biggest crime families in Florida。 Matt wants nothing to do with the family bus So， I went straight into this book after finishing Cale Dietrich’s other book， “The Love Interest” （3。5 stars; you can read my review on my profile， if you’re so inclined） and while I definitely did enjoy both， I have to say that “The Friend Scheme” was definitely the better of the two！ Our story follows the character of Matt Miller， a gay， film-obsessed teen， whose father just so happens to be the boss of one of the biggest crime families in Florida。 Matt wants nothing to do with the family business and when he meets the sexy， confident Jason， he has a real friend （and possibly more *wink wink*） for the first time but in addition to his own secrets， Matt finds that Jason is hiding a few of his own。 Can their friendship survive and grow， or will their mutual secrets ruin their impossibly complex chance at happiness？ I really enjoyed this book！ As with Cale’s debut， the premise was immediately intriguing， and his writing was smooth， easy and compulsively readable。 I finished the book in two sittings， over the course of one day， which I suppose says just how good I found the book。 I really related to Matt， and the pressures he felt to try and conform to his family’s expectations， and I thought Jason was a total sweetheart。 Their chemistry together was palpable， in a very Romeo and Juliet way and I loved the progression of their relationship。 The angst that occurred due to their mutual secrets was very realistic， when it could’ve very easily become cliche and melodramatic， so I applaud Cale for finding a way to thread that needle successfully。 The only reason that this isn’t a 5-star read is because it’s not one of my favourite books of all-time， but it is still a fun， easy， enjoyable read that’s at turns thrilling， romantic and sexy！ It’s one that I definitely recommend！ I had a great time with this book， and I can’t wait to read whatever Cale writes next！ 。。。more

Alex Montague ，

romeo and romeo

Simplekind ，

This book has given me so many mixed emotions。 The biggest issue I had was the ending。 Like， I guessed who Jason was but how thing turned out after Matt came out to his family。 And then it just ended？ Seriously what was with that ending？

Cody James ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I really enjoyed Cake Dietrich’s debut novel “The Love Interest”， and was eager to read his follow up。 “The Friend Scheme” follows Matt， the youngest son of a Floridian criminal who has expectations of his sons…none of which include his youngest being gay and not wanting to live a life of crime。 When Matt meets Jason in the bathroom of his dads regular bar， the two form a friendship under one rule: didn’t talk about each others families。 Jason has his own family loyalties， and the two clash。 Whe I really enjoyed Cake Dietrich’s debut novel “The Love Interest”， and was eager to read his follow up。 “The Friend Scheme” follows Matt， the youngest son of a Floridian criminal who has expectations of his sons…none of which include his youngest being gay and not wanting to live a life of crime。 When Matt meets Jason in the bathroom of his dads regular bar， the two form a friendship under one rule: didn’t talk about each others families。 Jason has his own family loyalties， and the two clash。 When a scheme from a rival crime family is revealed， Matt questions wether his new friend is genuine。Cale Dietrich is a fantastic author， and while I did like “The Love Interest” more than this， I still very much enjoyed it。 Matt is a very likable character。 You really feel for the guy for just wanting a normal crime free life， and to be authentically himself， while still loving his father and brother。 Jason I’m not a fan of， and I think that’s why I feel differently towards this then “The Love Interest”。 There’s isn’t any redeeming qualities to Jason I feel， and he continuously lies to Matt after Matt opens up to him about his issues with trust。Also， this was advertised as “part thriller”。 I’m sorry， but there was nothing thriller about this。 If anything I’d call it a mystery…like “who really is Jason”。 That isn’t to say there isn’t “thrilling” scenes， but when I’m told thriller I expect to be on the edge of my seat， and I just wasn’t。 If you take away the thriller category though this is still a fun book and I’m very happy I finally got my hands on it 。。。more

Olivia ，

Dnf @ 73%

Alexander Shay ，

I kind of wish this book had been adult fiction， because all the things I felt were lacking would have been included had this not been a book oriented towards a teen audience。 I was curious if this was in fact teen or more young adult/adult， given the whole gang family thing， but that content is handled in such a way that this could be older teen without issue。 Anxiety seems to be a growing condition in people around my age; almost everyone I know has some form of it。 So on one hand， it's nice t I kind of wish this book had been adult fiction， because all the things I felt were lacking would have been included had this not been a book oriented towards a teen audience。 I was curious if this was in fact teen or more young adult/adult， given the whole gang family thing， but that content is handled in such a way that this could be older teen without issue。 Anxiety seems to be a growing condition in people around my age; almost everyone I know has some form of it。 So on one hand， it's nice to have protagonists who aren't completely confident in themselves， who reflect traits and thoughts that many people who read this age level of books can relate to， but on the other hand， I haven't read a new （published in the last two years or so） teen book that doesn't have a protagonist without anxiety in over a year now。 It seems to be the new "vampires"--teen protagonists with anxiety are very in right now。 Some authors do a great representation of it while others have clearly just hopped on the bandwagon and drop in an anxious thought just often enough to get away with saying their protagonist has anxiety。 Matt doesn't have an anxiety disorder， I would say; as someone who's had almost no friends and feels awkward in social situations his concerns about how he appears to others and if he's screwed up are kind of normal in a way， though the degree to which he thinks repeatedly over some spots might be construed as a mild social anxiety maybe。 It wasn't the anxiety itself in this book I had issue with， it was just another book on the ever-growing 'anxious protagonist' pile。 Which， again， not a bad thing， because it reflects society and teen readers， but also makes for a very monotonous/interchangeable bunch of protagonists when not done carefully。 I will say that Matt and Jason's relationship did not go the way I expected it to。 Twice， actually。 One twist you kind of expect from the beginning， but the other I didn't。 That said， it seemed kind of sudden。 As with the Love Interest， it's only narrated by one character， and I felt like I missed half the plot because of that。 Having Jason narrate at all would naturally remove any element of surprise to the reader， but I think the dramatic irony of knowing what Jason knows and what Matt knows， and knowing what they don't know about each other， could have been a just as good source of drama/tension/plot。 I felt familiar with Matt by the end because it's his story and we inhabit his head the whole time， but I never quite believed Jason as a character （and not because the inherent situation they were in which required lying about certain things）。 He felt a little unfinished to me， like not needing to go into his POV meant he didn't get explored as deeply， so he wasn't as developed as he should have been for just a major character。Much to my shock， I think my favorite character was Luke。 Given the world they live in， he was just so chill and whatever about things， but also more aware than Matt （and thus the reader） give him credit for about certain things。 I kind of wish he had a bit more page time; he has a decent amount， but especially given the impact of his advice on the end of the story， I think he needed a bit more。 And their father definitely needed more page space。 He comes across as the stereotypical mob/mafia boss guy， and I think he's supposed to become more likeable/relatable as the story goes on， but he just seems kind of inconsistent to me， with Luke's explanations to Matt when he constantly asks 'are you sure' serving as an unconvincing stand-in to actually developing the father as a character。 He goes soft， basically， but I didn't feel it like Matt did， like I was probably intended to。 And because of that， the ending felt a little weak。 I'm not against endings that don't go "big"。 I'm trying to read more books like that， to get away from the expectations about endings Hollywood has instilled in us， how they have to be big and explosive and dramatic。 Because they don't。 But this didn't feel like a quiet ending。 This felt like a convenient side step， the proverbial 'grazed by the bullet'。 Because there is so much focus on Matt's family and this building war， you would expect it gets dealt with more directly than it does， and I think having the father more involved in the story might have helped with that。 The story just shifts focus so suddenly in the last couple chapters it almost feels like a train derailing。 Sure， Matt needed the events of the novel to happen before he could believe in himself enough to do what he did in the end， but him deciding to believe in himself and changing his "destiny" actually doesn't effect the plot of the novel at all beyond his relationship with Jason。 It just could have been so much more， but I got the feeling that this book was trying very hard to play light with very serious things （murder， torture， being part of a gang） and there was a palpable reluctance to get into the down and dirty side of things。 I don't know if that's because of the teen fiction genre limitations， the author's comfort zone， or what， but being able to go deeper with the plot and the characters and all the implications hinted at throughout the book would have been so neat。 。。。more

Trigger Warning Database ，

Trigger & Content WarningsHomomisiaChild abuseHospitalisationDeath of a parent mentionedGun violenceGang violence mentioned

Kay ，

I kind of liked the idea of the plot and the dynamics between Matt and Jason。The big secret wasn't that much of a secret。。。 sadly。。。Still liked it somehow （2。5）。 Thanks Matt for saving this with your cute and awkward way of flirting！ I kind of liked the idea of the plot and the dynamics between Matt and Jason。The big secret wasn't that much of a secret。。。 sadly。。。Still liked it somehow （2。5）。 Thanks Matt for saving this with your cute and awkward way of flirting！ 。。。more

Verónica Fleitas Solich ，

I felt the plot too forced from beginning to end。The protagonists have their adorable part but the rest of the story lacks content and feeling。I really wanted to like it because I had wanted to read it for a long time。A disappointment。

Ridley ，

I really enjoyed this - it was a fast， fun，  Romeo and Juliet retteling - two boys from opposite crime families coming together， finding their way in the world and developing feelings for each other。 Your typical coming of age story， but you know， with the mob。 I loved Matt and Jason， and Matt's brother， Luke。 I also liked that we didn't see much from the crime/mob side of things considering Matt wants out - although it does affect the plot quiet a bit。 The family dynamics were interesting。 Some I really enjoyed this - it was a fast， fun，  Romeo and Juliet retteling - two boys from opposite crime families coming together， finding their way in the world and developing feelings for each other。 Your typical coming of age story， but you know， with the mob。 I loved Matt and Jason， and Matt's brother， Luke。 I also liked that we didn't see much from the crime/mob side of things considering Matt wants out - although it does affect the plot quiet a bit。 The family dynamics were interesting。 Some things were predictable， like Matt's actions and he was a little gullible but he's still a cinnamon roll who must be protected。 I would have given it five stars but the ending felt so rushed to me and felt like it came out of nowhere， but it was still a satisfying conclusion。 Plus the writing did seem a little。。。young adult？ But I get that we are told things through the mind of a teenage boy， which I think people tend to forget in young adult books and nitpick at it by calling the writing style "amature。"It was swoon worthy， hot in places， dripping with sweetness in others。 I really enjoyed The Love Interest and I am looking forward to the upcoming Gay Slasher coming out next year。  。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Friend Scheme

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Friend Scheme&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Friend Scheme&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0