Boystown, Season Three

And the drama continues with season three of Jake Biondi's Boystown...

Last season (or book, if you prefer) ended with Derek's secret love for Cole being played out for everyone to see ... Joyelle running out, Derek hot on her heels. Cole chasing after Derek. And Michael rushing to ensure nothing happens. But something did happen. The car Joyelle was getting ready to get into exploded! Who survived? Who made it away unscathed? And whose lives will be forever changed? And thus begins season three...

The Mancini/Ciancino feud grows worse as an investigation begins into who put a bomb inside of the car that nearly killed four not-so-innocent lives and did kill two innocent people. Derek and Joyelle find their lives forever changed with an unspeakable loss. But with Joyelle's memory of that night gone, will Derek be able to patch up his marriage and start again? And what about his relationship with Cole? Of course, how far will Tyler go to get his chance to be with Joyelle?

They are not the only ones affected by the car explosion. Keith is distraught about almost losing Michael - but that is nothing compared to the threat that looms in the form of Rachel Carson. She knows his deepest secret, and unless he does exactly what she says, he runs the risk of losing Michael anyway. But is keeping Michael worth the price?

Meanwhile, Emmett and Max are thrilled at the prospect of opening a restaurant together. And when Emmett's father dies, he has no interest whatsoever in being a part of the family business that has cost his family so much - but Derek and Justin are determined to keep their business out of the hands of the Ciacinos. The only problem is, Justin can't keep his hands off of Gino Ciacino. But can their Romeo/Juliet romance be enough to keep the two families from killing each other?

At the same time, Logan and Jacqueline must come to terms with the sight that they walked in on - Jesse and Ben in bed together. But who was playing who in that scenario? Logan turns to the bottle again and Jacqueline simply shuts everyone out. But Ben knows Jacqueline's secret - he knows who Jesse's father is. If she doesn't stay with him, he will reveal her secret, which will change the lives of her son and the man who sired him!

And let's not leave out Gino and Marco, and the secret that their aunt holds regarding the fourth Mancini brother - one who has a connection with their own mother! But, what happens when Marco intercepts a private message meant for Gino and discovers not only the identity of that fourth brother, but also the fact that he is right there under their very noses?!

Then, there's the introduction of Jensen Stone and Dustin Alexander, a new waiter and a new manager for Emmett and Max's new restaurant. Each of them has his own secret, and those secrets will no doubt come into play in coming books...

Mysteries abound! Who is the Mancini brother? Who is Jesse's father? And who is so determined to seek revenge that he will set up Emmett and Max's new restaurant to explode during a pre-opening benefit for Cole's mother and others fighting cancer?  Season three definitely has one heck of an explosive cliffhanger (pun fully intended!), for which I cannot wait for Season Four!

Biondi is by far a talented writer, and he has the perfect feel and format for a nighttime soap opera - there simply has to be a way to either get him writing a night soap, or turn this series into a soap opera!

RATING: 10 poisoned cups of coffee out of 10 for escalating the drama, resolving some stories, starting others, and keeping me wanting for more!