Rating: 4 stars
Buy Link: Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK
Length: Novel
Boystown is an ongoing dramatic serial and this review will naturally reveal plot points of the series.
In its 11th season, Boystown opens with the drama of the cliffhangers from the prior season. There is no shortage of heartache as there are deaths to mourn and the residents need time to grieve, but there is also still a killer out there and there is always a new catastrophe waiting.
Characters that were long thought to be dead reappear as Brianna Mancini suddenly returns with motives all of her own. The Mancini boys have only a slight hesitation as the mother they never knew starts making demands of their time. Justin and Gino are moving all of their available resources to get their kidnapped son, Christopher, back home, but Christopher might never be the same after the trauma he has suffered.
Pregnant with twins, Hope Ciancio still has her eye on business and is relentless in her quest to keep the power in her family and to hide a family secret. With estranged brothers, Joseph and Cody, in a battle over the paternity of the babies, it seems there will be no peace between the men anytime soon. Jesse is back in town and looking forward to getting back together with Logan and he remains as obsessive as ever. A powerful senator has secrets the Ciancio family will exploit if they don’t get their way. It’s just another day in tumultuous Boystown.
With 11 seasons, I will say this is the longest ongoing series I have been involved with. The last season moved forward 25 years into the future and some of the original characters remain and there is the addition of their grown children, as well as some new characters. The opening hits hard and fast as the aftermath of the cliffhangers are revealed and there are substantial changes to the character roster.
The style remains the same and it’s always easy to get pulled back into this world. The drama remains high and this series must be viewed with the over-the-top dramatic tone it thrives on. A lot happens in this book and while last season did offer a little down time maybe for the first time for these characters, this book ramps up the action, as well as the tension for all the residents. I did feel some of the scenes were recycled as is often an occurrence with ongoing dramas, and what had happened to the original characters was now being replayed for the new generation and some more variety would have interested me more. There are also several new characters and some of them were harder to place for me and this season didn’t quite have that full visual feel that I am used to when reading this series.
The season ends with more over the top cliffhangers and one in particular was harder to take seriously, but that’s not what this series is about. Boystown remains the go to series with outrageous and highly dramatic scenes where some characters are scheming and some never get a moment of peace. The ending will once again reel you in and have you looking for your next visit to Boystown.
