Mark A. Roeder

I did not finish yet read enough to know that this book is just about the worst book I've ever read. Here are some of the things that made me stop wasting time on it:
Major inconsistencies: In chapter 1, the MC, Grayson Potter says he came from a very wealthy family. In chapter 2, he says he came from the poor end of the middle class. In chapter 1, he has traveled to Culver to attend a military academy and must first spend two nights in a hotel. In chapter 2 after football practice, he goes to sandwiches his mother has made. Moreover, he went to football practice having never been in the school before or becoming an actual student. In chapter 1, he isn't sure he really is homosexual, but in chapter 2 he brags about how many boys he has seduced. (Incidentally, he is 14 years old).
The voice used to tell the story is not that of a person who is only 14. Grayson is too perspective, too sophistoccated, too wise and insightful.
The list goes on. This is just a horrible book and I feel no need to finish it. I hope that others will not even start.… (més)

Only the rich can say that “money doesn’t solve everything” since they have enough of it to stop worrying about the basics. As Chauncey proves in this story, no matter how much money you have, your family can still get to you. They may not be able to “blackmail” you financially, but there are other methods. In Chauncey’s case the problem is that he wants nothing to do with running the family company, and has told his grandfather so, but the old man does not want to listen. Chauncey respects and likes his grandfather too much to refuse the summons to the family residence for Christmas, so he has to find another way of finally getting everyone to leave him alone.

Chauncey’s plan is as ingenious as it is devious. He figures that if he shocks the family enough they will finally let him do his own thing. A “boy toy” ten years younger than Chauncey, barely legal, and ideally a Goth should do it. The man he recruits is barely eighteen, a prostitute since he was fifteen, and selling his body is the only way he can make ends meet. Chauncey hadn’t put much thought into the feelings of the man he “hired”, but as he gets to know Cole, who tells it as he sees it, Chauncey begins to realize he is using Cole as much as any of the men who pay him for sex. This does not sit well with Chauncey, but it does trigger some changes in the way he looks at things.

Chauncey’s family is something else! He compares then to the soap opera Dynasty, and that isn’t far off. His cousins all want to take over the company and are scheming and plotting against Chauncey and each other to get there. None of them believe that Chauncey truly is not interested, and they will stop at nothing to get their hands on even more billions than the millions they already have. A few unexpected twists and turns as things escalate make this not just an amusing, but a very suspenseful read.

Cole is a breath of fresh air not just for Chauncey, but also for the rest of his family and the stuffy members of society he has been hired to scandalize. Cole is an excellent actor and has the part of “boy toy” down pat. But he also begins to understand and even like – just a little – Chauncey. He still takes whatever gifts Chauncey showers him with as part of the act with open hands, but as the story develops and he sees what Chauncey has to put up with, their relationship becomes a little more personal.

If you like stories about the problems of rich people, if two men from different worlds trying to bridge the chasm between them sound interesting, and if you’re looking for a read that is funny, suspenseful, a great character study all around, and very sweet, then you will probably like this novel. It makes for great reading at any time, but is particularly poignant around Christmas – when many of us are more exposed (willingly or not) to our families than during the rest of the year.… (més)

I had read a few of Mark's other novels and this one seemed to recycle the earlier books' story line. Generally, I had predicted how the book would have ended. I agreed with a few reviewers that the narration tended to repeat what we had been told - hot body, muscular body, so in love with him and then another him... and so on. It was like watching daytime soap opera or Sue Ellen in Dallas sitting down with the other ladies, narrating something that just happened minutes ago in the same episode.

I failed to see how Jon and Ethan could be best friends. They hardly spent time together. Ethan had never been to Jon's home and the same went for Jon. The book got us all rooting for Jon-Ethan, just to have us ending with Ethan and the not-so-hot friend (I did not want to spoil too much).

Funny how almost everyone could be so open to guys being gays, including Uncle Jack, who did not seem to be bothered about the house arrangement and who was sharing the bed with whom, under his roof.

All were already at marginal line for acceptance by me, until Nathan became the crying baby at the end of the book. It was too much to follow through. Moreover, with the repetition in the story-telling, I began to flip the pages faster and found myself not to be missing a beat at all.

By the way, I was already aware of whom the 'someone' was, halfway through the book. It was never a suspense.… (més)

Given that this was the second book in the Gay Youth Chronicle series, it could be assumed that Roeder had decided to continue with a sequel to Part 1 - Outfield Menace, as Roeder needed to give a proper ending to Kurt and Angel's relationship.

There were several characters introduced in the book which I had wondered if they were necessary. And they seemed to be too good to be true - all were so willing to welcome a gay youth into their lives. It was painted a little too perfect.

Somehow, Roeder repeated often several lines - for example, Angel's reflection on how nice Jack and his wife were and how nice grandma and her granddaughter were. I did think that somehow grandma would pass away and the little girl would end up with Jack and his wife. However, that did not happen. So, I am still puzzled why they were introduced into the storyline.

Apparently the kids in the town did not learn much. After bullies were arrested for murder, this should have shocked some into hiding. This was not so. New bullies worked with old bullies. Funny. Still, as a fan of Roeder's work, I looked forward for more stories from him.… (més)