This was such a fun read. I love how it had all of my favorite romance thriller tropes, but with 2 male characters falling for each other. This was the first book I've read written by Cale Dietrich and I raly enjoyed the writing style. It was cute, fun, and still suspenseful. I will definitely be reading more from this author.

Unfortunately, this book was not for me. Although it has an intriguing premise it failed to reach the mark.

Matt Miller is the son of a leading crime family and it's expected that he will grow up to have a major role in the criminal organization. But Matt is miserable, hating the violence perpetrated by his family and fearing the harm that may befall his loved ones. When he meets Luke at his family's bar and meeting place, Michael is instantly attracted and engaged by Luke's warm and friendly manner. Before long the two boys are spending more time together, their friendship based on the mutual agreement that they won't share last names or talk about their families. However, this agreement causes strain on their relationship, especially as they grow closer together and feelings become more romantic than platonic.

Personally I did not enjoy the writing style of this book; it felt choppy and superficial and the constant use of "hot" and "cute" to describe the characters had me wondering if Matt (the first person narrator) knew any other adjectives. Despite this being a character driven novel I never connected with any of the characters. I wanted to like Matt but found him to be unrealistically naive and far too trusting. It also seemed that the violence - both caused by him and others - never truly affected him. It felt as if Matt moved from event to event without dealing with what was occurring. Matt and Luke, despite being the main characters, felt undeveloped and the side characters were even more lacking. The criminal world was vague and surprisingly boring. The plot also was not engaging and full of holes with an ending that felt overly simplistic and rushed.

Overall this is a book I would recommend skipping.

Two people from warring families falling in love is a premise older than Romeo and Juliet, and in truth, Cale Dietrich’s The Friend Scheme more resembles Westside Story, but without the benefit of jazzy choreography and catchy showtunes. While there were some sweet and hopeful moments among the drama in this book, I also wish I could say I liked it more.

I struggled to finish this book, some of that due to the dialogue, which didn’t advance the story or reveal much about the MCs. In general the storytelling wasn’t particularly well executed, the writing was surprisingly simplistic, and what might have been a plot steeped in suspense and shocking revelations was instead predictable, and in fact, the blurb gives away the one good plot twist. Matt and Jason do live in the end, though, so at least there’s that.

I’m not going to beat this book to death, and I don’t want to end things on an entirely negative note. Matt shone on a few occasions, particularly when it’s made clear that he’s not cut from the same cloth as his father and brother; the mafia life is not one he will ever assimilate to. Matt’s brother, Lukas, had his moments to be the good guy as well, and I liked him more than I thought I would. And let’s give some kudos to the cover artist too.

While I can’t say The Friend Scheme worked for me, I’m glad it exists for other readers who have a new book to choose, read, and potentially like.

I loved the Romeo and Juliet retelling with two boys from rival mob gangs. I think the writing could be a little better. There were parts that read like a child was writing and I felt like some of the interactions between the boys were a little weird. Is it normal for boys to wrestle like that when they’re in pools? I really don’t know. I’ve never been a boy so maybe that’s the disconnect. I did like seeing a male character with some body image issues. I’m so used to that being a female character trait and honestly males are just as prone to body dysmorphia. It was an entertaining read.

So this is like a mobster version of Romeo and Juliet with a sweet twist of cinnamon roll goodness. The story line, while somewhat predictable, had some interesting twists. It was a fun read and once I reached that third act, I didn't want to set it down.

I really enjoyed this. I suspected I would, because I really liked Cale Dietrich's previous book, The Love Interest. This one had a similar feel that was a lot of fun -- fast-paced, and immediate. The writing is deceptively simple and just draws you into the story. It also makes you really get inside Matt's head and sympathize with him and how out of place he feels in his family.

I loved that this was a Romeo and Juliet story, with children of rival Mobster families. The twists were paced just right and made it even better.

I did feel that it was a little lacking in substance at times, or maybe just a little too drawn out, which is why I'm giving it four stars instead of five. Also all the high-stakes tension that is sustained throughout the book fizzles at the end making the abrupt happy ending feel very anticlimactic. Still highly enjoyable though, and worth the read.

I loved this book! Cale Dietrich has written a sweet romance with all the tensions and pressures that come from ridiculous societal norms. I found this book hilarious and frustrating all the same time! I rooted for Matt and Jason from the beginning, even during the times I didn't think they'd make it!. I especially love the narrative that this book takes with gender roles and masculinity. Highly recommend!

Thank you netgalley for giving me an arc in exchange for a review.

I was very eager to read this story as it was one of my most anticipated reads of the year, but unfortunately it fell a little flat for me. I struggled with the writing style and connecting to the characters because of it. There were pages of dialogue that (although sweet) did nothing to drive the plot forward or do anything to help the reader really get to know the main characters any better. It was very choppy and read for a younger audience.

Overall I loved the premise of this story and it had a lot of potential, but in execution it fell somewhat flat.

Reading books is all fun and games until you pick up an anticipated release and it’s not what you expected. Unfortunately, while there are some aspects I liked about The Friend Scheme- the majority of the book let me down.

Let’s start on a positive: I did like the main character, Matt. He was sweet. I enjoyed the pop culture( and there I say- gay culture) references, and I loved Matt’s relationship with his brother Luke. I hate how rare it is to see good sibling relationships in books and this was nice.

However, the negatives out weigh the good. Firstly, for something marketed as part thriller.. this book was boring. I feel like the romance overshadowed the “thrilling” parts.

Secondly, there’s constant dialogue between Matt and Jason with nothing else really happening. I don’t think it leaves much room to develop the side characters or even Jason properly. Jason could also get extremely pushy and got zero growth throughout the novel.

Thirdly, I just didn’t buy the family plot. Matt told us how dangerous his family is but the mood of the book just wasn’t right. In addition to that, they seem undeveloped.

Fourthly, the pacing towards the end was very abrupt and I didn’t like how the big twist- which I will admit, I didn’t see coming- led nowhere.

Yes I didn’t like this book but I do still recommend it solely on the fact that I am an adult reviewer, reviewing a young adult book. This book will probably mean the world to a lot of gay teens. I can see the plot being much more exciting for teens, and it is also OwnVoices.

I really enjoyed this. The authors first novel wasn’t my favorite but I saw the potential. When I saw that his book was coming out I was excited. The cover is beautiful and I actually liked the story here better. I really enjoyed the chemistry between the main characters. I’m hoping the author writes more and it just gets better every time.
Overall I would give it a 3.75/5

I want to preface this review by saying that this book wasn’t for me, and that’s okay. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I will never find a good enough reason to think an LGBTQ+ YA book shouldn’t exist. I grew up reading authors like Meg Cabot and Ann Brashares, because they were some of the only books I felt I could relate to. If you had told 13 year old me that 15 years in the future LGBTQ+ books for people my age were a thing, and not just a thing, but prevalent, I would have looked at you so funny. I’m very happy this book exists and that some young adult might pick it up and find what they need in it. However, I had a few problems with this.

Nick Miller is just that, a Miller. A son of the one most infamous crime bosses in Florida and part of a family that has been committing crime and running the underground for decades. He’s never quite fit in, though, and he’s pretty convinced a life of crime isn’t for him. He’s not like his brother, Luke, who picked up the ropes so naturally and even seems to enjoy everything their father teaches them and encourages them to do.

Nick feels trapped, and with no real friends (because of the whole mafia thing) he’s exceedingly lonely. Until, one night, when he meets Jason, a mystery boy he’s never seen around his family’s bar before who takes an immediate interest in him. They start hanging out and getting to know each other, but they both immediately realize that what they thought was a friendship could be so much more. That is, until Nick learns of a rival family plot to infiltrate the Miller ranks as new friends or lovers to try and capture some of the family secrets or weaknesses. Nick immediately knows Jason is a Donovan (the rival family), but could the truth actually be so much more?

I, sadly, had a few issues with this book but I think the biggest one was the ending. It felt a little like Dietrich was ready to be done by the end so he just kind of wrapped it all up with a nice bow even if the package inside didn’t make total sense. There’s a major twist at the end that I won’t talk about because, spoilers, but it happens so fast towards the very end, I barely had time to ruminate in it. Not even 10-15 pages later it’s the end of the book and there’s somehow…closure, but I can’t imagine how because it feels like nothing was done to earn it. I also still have so many questions. There were huge plot points of the book left out of the ending. Like, does Nick ever come out to his dad and the Miller family? Does he ever tell Luke who Jason really is? How do Jason and Nick reconnect and how does Nick even get to being comfortable with that emotionally and mentally? It all just felt a tad rushed in the last 50 or so pages.

Having said that, though, I really enjoyed Nick and Jason’s relationship. Despite the backdrop of crime, they’re still just two boys trying to figure themselves out while not being a total dolt in front of the other. Which, I can relate to immensely as I spent a huge portion of my middle and high school years being an utterly awkward clutz.

I think if this book had been just a little bit longer and given me more time to sit in the angst or showed me Jason or Nick actually fighting or working to be around the other one again, I would have given this a higher rating. But, I just felt a little cheated by the end.

Thank you to the publisher for an ARC. I received it in exchange for an honest review.

I think the problem with both of Dietrich's books is that they try very hard to be something they're not. What The Friend Scheme and The Love Interest really are, at their hearts—and what they’re pretty good at being—is fluffy, cute, lighthearted romances. But at the same time, they try so hard to be gritty thrillers (The Friend Scheme) or dystopians (The Love Interest), which 1) Dietrich is just not nearly as good at writing and 2) fit so poorly with the cheesy, adorable romances that take center stage.

So I think if you approach Dietrich’s work as what truly is—slightly cliche, slightly tropey, very cute romances—you’ll enjoy yourself. But if you came looking for a gritty thriller with incisive social commentary, you just won’t get it, and you’ll walk away disappointed.

With all that said, let’s talk about the romance in The Friend Scheme, the main focus of the story. I’m not usually someone for sweet YA romance (a quick look at my read shelf will show mostly high fantasy and MG adventure), but I really enjoyed the romance in The Friend Scheme. I had this huge smile plastered across my face the whole time. Yes, it’s pretty cliche and tropey at times, but lord is it adorable.

While I think this book suffered from many technical flaws, the main emotion that I felt reading it was neither frustration nor irritation, but pure excitement. For that reason, I have to rate The Friend Scheme 4 stars and not 3—I just enjoyed myself too damn much and had such a fun time, even though when I sit down now to think critically about the book I’m finding many things that could be improved. But whenever I picked up the book, I just couldn’t put it down for at least another 100 pages. The plot was EXTREMELY twisty, and there are some enormous surprises in store. I gasped audibly more times than I can count. I also enjoyed the characters a ton, for the most part: I liked Matt a lot, and there were a lot of awesome side characters, like Cassie, Luke, and Naomi and Bri. (Though I felt like a lot of the Millers were just Italian mob cardboard cutouts, and Jason didn’t seem the most well-developed.)

My main critique has to do with the ending. Obviously, I can’t go into this in a lot of detail outside of the spoiler tags, but here are my complaints in a nutshell. After the rest of the book was paced and plotted well, the last 15% went about like so: the external conflict (can Matt and Jason be together?) was wrapped up extremely conveniently and quickly, and the internal conflict (is Matt an evil gang person or a normal guy?) was suddenly introduced, speed-run through, and quickly wrapped up. (view spoiler)

Some other miscellaneous complaints:
- I really liked Matt’s brother Luke, but their relationship almost seemed too good to be true. But I don’t have siblings, so what do I know.
- There were so many pop culture references. I could hardly take a breath without stumbling across one. I usually dislike pop culture references in stories because of how they date the books and how obvious of an attempt to pander to the audiences I find them. Although I wasn’t as bothered by them in this book (probably because there were a lot of references to things I like), they still wore on me after a while. (Especially the references to other things in the YA bookworld, like the Grisha trilogy and Love, Simon.)

tl;dr Although there are a few technical flaws with The Friend Scheme, particularly regarding the execution of the ending, it was an unabashedly fun, sugary sweet story. If you like cute, lighthearted romances, I would 100% recommend this book. If you're interested in something deep and gritty, The Friend Scheme might not be for you.

I want to thank the publisher and author for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a super fast, easy, read. I couldn't put it down! Matt and Jason were awkward and adorable. The only things that kept this from 5 stars was the fact that the ending felt rushed and things were wrapped up way too easily. I wanted a bit more from the mobsters son/cops son storyline and the big reveal. Nonetheless, this was a fun read. If you are looking for a fast paced, teenage angst filled romance, this is for you.

Ahhh...I don't know if I've finally aged out of YA or what but this book just didn't do it for me. (And I was SO looking forward to it too).

I think the biggest thing that kept pushing me out of the book was the style of writing. I don't use this often, but the writing felt immature.

The close first-person felt like "thought-thought-thought" and while it kept the action high in the book, it prevented me from sinking into the book. There didn't seem to be much substance behind their thoughts and feelings.

The characters felt like teenagers but the kind of teenagers that I want to shake and tell them to make better decisions.

I couldn't get a clear picture on the characters' personalities other than videogames and liking boys....which, isn't a terrible thing per say but it prevented me from connecting to them.

All in all, maybe my interpretation could be because I'm not the target audience? But I'm usually such a fan of YA...

The Friend Scheme by Cale Dietrich


Matt’s father is the head of an organized crime family, and now that Matt is 17, he’s expected to join the family business. But Matt just wants to be normal and not have to worry about the retaliatory attacks that could come at any moment from their rivals.

And then Matt meets Jason and finds him utterly fascinating. He’s not supposed to have friends outside the “family”, but as their friendship grows closer—and the possibility of something more than friendship emerges—Matt tries not to worry about whether or not the whole thing might be a setup.

The blurb contains a bit of a spoiler, and it’s a bit of an odd choice to include that bit of information because it eliminates the most lingering question. I certainly won’t mention it here, but if possible, avoid reading the blurb.

That said, I enjoyed reading this book. Matt is a likeable character, who isn’t like the rest of his family. He loves his father and brother, but he’s not thrilled at the prospect of a lifetime of crime. On top of his ambivalence, he’s beginning to realize that he might be gay, and that’s something else he can’t talk to his family about because they wouldn’t understand or accept him. So Jason is an interesting new friend, but he doesn’t know anything about Jason, but he *wants* to know more, but can he trust him?

Of course, the book is single perspective: the reader only knows what Matt knows, so we’re left wondering about Jason’s identity and motivation. The tension increased incrementally as the boys’ relationship deepens, and I worried about everyone escaping unscathed.

I would absolutely recommend The Friend Scheme. This book was sweet and tender, and Matt’s earnest charm was infectious. I’m looking forward to reading more from Dietrich in the future.


I received a copy of this book from Macmillan Children’s/NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

More substance than what I usually find in the young adult genre. Two young men discover each other while finding a way to live their lives for themselves. Domineering parents try to try to force each boy into the world they choose for them.
Jason and Matthew are courageous in standing up against life as they know it. There are life lessons here.
#TheFriendScheme #Netgalley #CaleDietrich

I thought this book was fun! I really liked seeing their relationship grow, but wish there were higher stakes or more tension in the climax. I loved that Matt learned to stand up for himself at the end though.

The Friend Scheme is an edge-of-your-seat contemporary with overtones of Romeo and Juliet, but with a twist. It's at once a romantic coming-of-age and a darker, more thriller-like story, which did cause some whiplash, but it still worked well, and it was an overall fun book, with some great hooks and a cute romance.

Matt, the main character, has a lot of character growth throughout the book, as is normal with teenagers. He's at that transition point in his life where he's not a kid but he has no idea how he's going to deal with becoming an adult soon, which is a very relatable state to be in. Aside from being the son of a crime family head, he's a fairly normal guy, and that's one of the things that makes him such an enjoyable. He's just Matt, and that's good. Jason, on the other hand, definitely leans towards the more unusual end of teenagers, while still remaining fundamentally a geek. He likes video games and reading, and through Matt's eyes is one of the most awesome people ever. Jason very much toes the line between Tall, Dark and Mysterious, and dork, and that blend makes him a very good love interest, especially for Matt.

Matt and Jason have a very complex relationship, and it's definitely very star-crossed lovers. I really liked how they became friends first, because it felt like there was an additional layer to their relationship as it progressed throughout the book. There was also a fair amount of build-up to it, which was nice, and all of this meant that the star-crossed part was all the more painful. Because we could see how well they got on and how well they worked in a relationship, knowing that there was a constant threat to their relationship built up the suspense as they got closer together. They really meshed well together as characters too, making their dynamic interesting to read about.

A lot of the plot was the development of the relationship, but it was also balanced with Matt's journey and the circumstances of his relationship with Jason. Much of the hook relies on not knowing quite what's going on, in the same way as Matt, or thinking you know something but actually not knowing the full picture. This is an interesting tone when paired with the pining-swooning-romance elements of the book, which I liked. All the build-up comes to a peak about two-thirds into the story, and it's a great combination of Matt's conflict with his family and his relationship with Jason. I found the relationship angst in particular worked quite well, because the conflict in their relationship felt quite tangible.

For a book where organised crime is a fairly large part of the influences on the characters, it's surprisingly blasé about it, which I wasn't too happy about. Matt expresses how he doesn't like the violence perpetuated by his family due to a feud, but there's never really a moment where he specifically condemns this; it came across as a little bit 'they're my family and I love them no matter what' after he mentions how they like being a part of this crime family. The crime part wasn't actually a huge part of the actual content, more a basis for motivations, so at times it felt like there were two books in one. I definitely think the crime aspect could have been done better, but I didn't find it particularly bad necessarily because it was not romanticised the way it can be in books, but this is just my viewpoint.

I found it a very easy read, in terms of writing and dialogue, and everything flowed well in my opinion. However, several people have mentioned that the writing was not to their preference, so if you tend to be a little picky about writing style, that's something to consider. It's not the centerpiece of the book because the style itself is fairly non-descript and definitely more for conveying the actions that occur. I also though the dialogue was very natural feeling, even when it was awkward to read, because it captured how conversations can be awkward.

If you're looking for a book that's both swoony romance and something darker, this is definitely a good book for you. It's a very entertaining read, and if you've read the author's previous book, I'm fairly confident in saying it's likely that you'll like this one too, in terms of structural and thematic similarities.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

It's sad, I really wanted to like this one. When I read "part thriller, part romance" I was hoping for more of an action-packed forbidden lovers story. Which this is, to an extent, if you squint. Really, really hard.

The "thriller" that we were advertised is lacking to an extreme level. Only two major action scenes happen in the entire book. They pass with little to no consequence, and in a blink of an eye, we're back to the doe-eyed teenage fling.

And the conflict between the two main characters is contrived and forced, to be blunt. I expected a more complex, dramatic edge and the most we got was a single charged conversation. For a book that revolves around gangs, crimes, and violence, the stakes seemed pretty low and the conversations were more what you'd expect from a simple teen drama.

And as much as I appreciated the pop culture references that made Matt seem like a real teenager, I fear that most of his internet-obtained language and interests will age poorly; he's relatable now, but a teen who picks up this book in five years may not think so.

The romance was cute, I'll give it that. I loved the awkwardness and inexperience and seeing those events play out for the first time from the perspective of someone who truly has no clue what he's doing or how he should feel.

A good number of side characters are named and introduced but end up serving no significant role in the plot. Instead, the author chooses to skip over weeks at a time, focusing on snippets of the budding romance instead of using that passage of time to flesh out other characters or plot lines.

The antagonists are barely-named, faceless, stereotypical Bad Guys, and for that, the realism of the conflict was difficult to connect with.

The ending is so abrupt and anticlimactic that I was sure I had somehow skipped over a couple of chapters. This book could have been twice as long and really delved into the politics of these families and their drug and crime-fueled feud, it would have better lived up to what it was advertised as.

Honestly, I loved this book and I read it really fast because it’s non stop action romance. I’m docking it one star because I don’t believe that wives and kids get invites to mob meetings and that the police commissioner would have her son be apart of an investigation. It doesn’t seem realistic. If you leave that part out I really enjoyed book. I loved Matt and his brother Luke. His loved interest Jason is very loveable also. If you can get past the kids being involved this a fast paced, romantic story with a bit of a mob story included.