The boys are back for another season! And let's face it - after six seasons, how much more drama and excitement can these characters take? How much more can the reader take? Well, considering this series is currently up to Season Ten, with Season Eleven in the works, clearly it is well-received. And I can understand why - the characters are actually engaging at most times, and the stories, while sometimes over-the-top and truly Dynasty/Dallas-worthy, will keep the reader turning page after page to see where it is all going to lead. And the fact that author Jake Biondi is not afraid to kill off some of the main characters once in a while - well, that tells you that you never know what to expect with this series. And just when the mysteries of the previous books get solved, Bioni drops more mysteries into the mix, more secrets waiting to be unveiled, and more deadly plots than you can shake a stick at!
Boystown: Season Seven brings resolution to all of those cliffhangers from the previous book. Cole was left to burn in a room by his captor, while Derek and Michael break in to save him, only to get shot instead! Max, out of control in a jealous rage, swings the fire iron at Patrick, but misses and hits his own son instead! The car carrying Justin and Gino sinks into the murky waters of Lake Michigan as Gino breaks the surface - while Justin is trapped unconscious in the car! As Jensen is found guilty of the murder of Rachel Carson (who he did not kill!), Emmett collapses to the floor as a result of the brain tumor growing in his head! David's life is nearly lost on the surgery table, but when he comes out of it, his life is forever changed! And Rob's sister, Rita, tells her brother that she is pregnant - with Cole's child! So, yeah, this season starts off with a bang, no doubt about it.
Meanwhile, the lives of the two families continue to intertwine. Justin and Gino are married, and their love is put to the test as they both survive the car's dive into the cold waters of Lake Michigan, but Gino's push to prove himself capable to running the family company drives a wedge between the two of them. Meanwhile, Cole is having a hard time dealing with the circumstances of his kidnapping, and knowing Rob is still on the loose causes stress on his and Derek's relationship. At the same time, Max is overcome with grief at having struck down his own son, who could now face severe brain damage, so he decides to leave town to learn how to deal with his anger issues, Dustin leaving with him. Patrick stands by Emmett as he learns the prognosis regarding his brain tumor, which is inoperable, and the medicine is not working. Adam and David are going forward with their wedding, despite David being confined to a wheelchair; and Keith faces the trauma of almost losing Michael once again to the gunshot wound he sustains at the hands of Rob. Joyelle seems to be the only one with good news, as she accepts Mateo's marriage proposal - but when she learns that he lied to everyone about Hugo's mother (who is really Camille!), she breaks it off, leaving herself open to Jack, who is more than willing to step in and offer his support.
It's a true soap opera, there's no doubt about that - and Biondi excels at setting up each chapter to read like a television episode. By the time you finish each chapter, you feel like you've just watched an intense, fully-filled episode of Boystown, and you are left breathless, waiting to see what happens next. And the mysteries this time around surround Emmett's realization that he may have very well been the one to kill Camille's daughter all those years ago - - the missing memory card that could hold the key to obtaining Jensen's freedom from jail - - and the true identity of Aiden Carmichael and why he seems so intent on destroying both the Mancini and the Ciancio families. The answer to that last one will definitely come as a surprise.
And, of course, there is the huge opening gala from the Ciancio-Mancini Youth Center, that is not only meant to bring the two families together and honor Tyler's memory, but is also the setting for Keith's big proposal to Michael. But, as with any good drama, the only fireworks that go off at the gala are the most deadly in nature! Derek and Cole face off against Michael on the rooftop, and one of them ends up lying on the roof after being shot, his blood spilling out. Adam and David are stepping out for a breath of fresh air, when Aiden climbs into a van, intent on running them down - and succeeds in hitting one of them, sending him across his windshield and over the back of the van to the hard pavement. Keith ends up at the wrong place and the wrong time, getting shot and falling backwards down the stairs before he can propose. Justin confronts Aiden about his true identity, and Aiden stabs him and leaves his motionless body bleeding out on the floor. Mateo and Jack fight on a rooftop over their love for Joyelle, and one of them ends up going over the edge. Franco sets up an impossible choice for Jensen - Hugo and Ethan are trapped in two separate places, both filled with deadly gas that will kill them within the half hour - he only has time to save one! Who will he choose? And Joyelle gets the shock of her life when Mateo shows up at her door with her baby, Hope! But not far behind him is the last person in the world Joyelle would expect to see (considering she thinks he is dead) - the baby's father, Marco! And probably the most heart-breaking of all of this season's cliffhangers is Patrick, who is talking with Emmett when he realizes that his worst fear has come to pass! And the final paragraphs of this season provide readers with a small glimpse into the future - with not one, but two funerals, one of them for a Mancini brother! But which brother is it who is being laid to rest?
While I have been enjoying the drama, the suspense, the action, the devious plots, and the cast of characters, this is going to be the final season I read of Boystown. Yes, I realize that means I will never get the answers to all those questions of who lives, who dies, and who survives the tragic events of the gala; however, the gratuitous and explicit sex scenes in these books have become too much and detract away from my enjoyment of the stories. I'm not a prude by any means, but really, there is no reason for the explicit, pornographic descriptions of these characters having sex, and the scenes add absolutely nothing to the story other than for "stimulation" for the readers. I must prefer writing that leaves these sort of things to the imagination (which ultimately make the scenes that much more intense and meaningful than getting graphic descriptions), and the amounts of scenes in this particular season took me out of the story too many times. So, I've ultimately decided it is time to put Boystown to rest on my shelves. I certainly wish Biondi well with his series, and I hope that the oft-talked about television rendition of these books comes to life one day, as I will be one of the first in line to watch it (with the hopes that the sex will be tamed down somewhat for television!).
RATING: 6 small blue memory cards out of 10 for keeping the drama and the characters fresh, and providing cliffhangers that are truly worthy of a night-time soap opera!
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