BOYSTOWN Season 8 by Jake Biondi #LGBT #Review

Dana reviews BOYSTOWN Season 8 by Jake Biondi (Published February 14, 2018, 339 pages) A copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

To read the review for BOYSTOWN Season 1 click here. To read the review for BOYSTOWN Season 2 click here. To read the review for BOYSTOWN Season 3 click here. To read the review for BOYSTOWN Season 4 click here. To read the review for BOYSTOWN Season 5 click here. To read the review for BOYSTOWN Season 6 click here. To read the review for BOYSTOWN Season 7 click here.

 

Blurb:

“Bright sunshine sparkled on the fresh layer of snow that coated the ground of the cemetery. Dressed in black overcoats, friends and family members of the deceased, many of whom had attended the burial of another loved one just days earlier, stood in rows like soldiers as they watched the flower-covered casket slowly being lowered into the ground. Those closest to the grave gently tossed additional roses onto the casket as it made its descent. A priest, dressed in white, stood solemnly at the head of the grave offering a final blessing for the Mancini brother being laid to rest. Saying goodbye can be one of the most difficult events in a person’s life.” –BOYSTOWN Season Seven

The shocking deaths of two beloved Boystown residents bring heartache and uncertainty to the lives of all who knew them. As family and friends grieve, the search begins for Joyelle Mancini and her daughter, who find themselves in the captivity of a madman. In the meantime, Aiden Carmichael continues his plan to destroy the Ciancio and Mancini families.

During the height of the holiday season, two strangers descend upon Boystown. The dashing Victor DelVecchio and the sexy Brad Ward arrive in Chicago just as several couples come to crossroads in their relationships. While some vow to move forward together and others choose to move in different directions individually, Victor and Brad have plans of their own which will permanently impact the Boystown landscape.

As Christmas approaches, a startling murder leaves a killer on the loose. With the arrival of the worst blizzard in Chicago history, someone struggles to keep his true identity from his friends, an evil plan tears apart one of Boystown’s most prominent couples, and several unforeseen events result in life-threatening situations for members of the Ciancio and Mancini families.

There’s no place like BOYSTOWN! 

 

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I am always so torn apart at the end of one of the BOYSTOWN books and have trouble organizing my thoughts into a rational review. At the same time, I need to write the review right away or I might forget what struck me so much during the reading. Because so much happens in one of these books. I don’t want that to sound like it’s too hard to follow because it’s not, but the books in this series aren’t about one couple. We follow a huge cast of characters around, a la soap opera style.

At the end of every book there are explosive cliffhangers (sometimes, literally). The cliffhangers from the previous book roll right into the beginning of the next book. In Season 7, the end featured a stabbing, a man who back from the dead and kidnapped another character. A brother – sister team shot more than one character. Two men were left to die of carbon monoxide poisoning by a man of the cloth. That’s just some of the craziness. My heart was in my stomach when I finished it. I patiently waited for this book to find out what would happen.

I can’t really reveal much about what happens inside BOYSTOWN Season 8 though, because just about anything is a spoiler. A couple I really liked appears to be ending, but really anything can happen, so I hold out hope. Another couple might be forming in the wake of a sad loss. Some characters continue to frustrate me by their repeated mistakes. They aren’t the characters I hate, but I find them stupid for lack of a better word. Some characters are such good guys and they seem to be the ones with the most rotten luck. Another group of characters I dislike because they are manipulative and actively work to make other characters’ lives harder. They aren’t the big bad ones though, so I hold onto a little bit of hope that they can see the light before they become the ones I hate.

There is an expression that I remember from my days watching soap operas. Characters that you love to hate. Here’s where it’s time to name the bad baddies. I can’t say that I love to hate Marco, the guy who pretended he was dead in order to destroy his brother. Nor Francesco Armani the former Cardinal who tried to control one of his former priests, and hurt others as well. I also don’t love to hate Aiden, the long lost Mancini who holds his brothers to blame for the sins of their father. I just hate them. At times, I can find myself very frustrated because these characters kill and hurt and never pay for what they do. Karma and the law just seem to be absent when it comes to them. Up until a point. Even if I’m ready to scream at the end of the book, I am addicted to this series because I am waiting to see them get what they deserve. I also need to see the good guys win once in a while, too. I just know I can’t stop reading these books.

I know some readers don’t like cliffhangers, and if you don’t, this might not be the series for you. I would encourage you to step out of your comfort zone for this series though. It’s exciting and passionate. Sometimes, frustrating. I can’t deny that I am left with a whole bunch of feelings at the end of the reading, and I like that there is so much to look forward to in the next book.

9/10 Pots of Gold (90% Recommended) – Compares to 4.5/5 Stars

Growing up in the suburbs of Chicago, Jake Biondi fell in love with “The Windy City” at an early age. He left the Chicago area for four years to attend the University of Notre Dame, from which he graduated with degrees in English and Business. He was awarded the university’s prestigious William Mitchell Award for Playwriting. Upon graduating from Notre Dame, Biondi returned to Chicago where he attended and graduated from the Loyola University Chicago School of Law. He has been living in Chicago’s Boystown neighborhood for over 20 years.

While studying literature, Biondi became a huge fan of Charles Dickens whose novels were originally released in installments, each ending in a cliffhanger to keep readers coming back for more. Because of his love of those novels as well as television dramas such as Dynasty, Knots Landing, Dallas, and Revenge, Jake Biondi decided to create a serialized saga for contemporary audiences. Thus, the BOYSTOWN series was born.

Biondi began BOYSTOWN in June of 2013 as an online story and intended to release one “episode” online per month, each ending in a cliffhanger. The story became so popular — and the online reading audience grew so quickly — that people from all over the country began to email him demanding to know what happened to their favorite characters and wanting the episodes to be released faster. They also had suggestions for future storylines. Excited by and grateful for his readers’ responses to BOYSTOWN, Biondi began to write and release installments more quickly.

In November of 2013, Biondi moved BOYSTOWN offline and published the first ten installments in book form as BOYSTOWN Season One. The book became an international hit, with fans all over the globe clamoring for more. BOYSTOWN Season Two was published in July of 2014. Season Three was released on May 1, 2015, Season Four was released on November 13, 2015, Season Five was released on June 1, 2016, Season Six was released on December 16, 2016, and Season Seven was released on July 7, 2017.

Because of the popularity of the book series, fans have suggested that BOYSTOWN be turned into a television series. Biondi recently completed the TV scripts for the first season of BOYSTOWN and hopes to bring the series to television in the very near future.

Welcome to BOYSTOWN.