Author's summary: Loser. Outcast. Freak. At seventeen, the names no longer hurt Vince Sanford. He's different from other students at his school and always has been ~ the pep rallies, school dances, name-brand clothes and football games and fifth quarter parties, none of that interested him. Not anymore.

There was a time when he did fit in, when his best friend had been Eric Somers, the most popular boy in school. They lived around the block from each other and were inseparable. It was never a question of was Eric eating over or was Vince staying the night ~ they were one soul in two bodies, sharing two homes, two lives.

But something happened between them the summer before high school that tore their friendship apart, leaving Vince with an anger, a hatred, that he can't control. Now Eric wants back in his life again but Vince is afraid to give him a second chance.

Vince is a very different read from what I am used to. It's one of Snyder's darkest novels.

Vince, the main character, is somewhat of a social outcast, but that's a choice that he's made for himself. Because of a memory from his past, he doesn't form close relationships with anyone and generally likes to keep to himself. He doesn't even feel a connection to his family. Vince is a very realistic and relatable character. However, he also has a lot of dark sexual fantasies born from the fact that his first experience with love was painful and seemingly one-sided.

Eric was Vince's best friend in the past. They were inseparable as children but along the way, Eric hurts Vince and since then, Vince has kept to himself and Eric goes on to form new friendships and circles. However, no one was as good a friend as Vince was and he wants to renew their relationship. Despite the fact that Vince keeps him at arms length now, he's persistent and that's admirable.

The interactions between Vince and Eric are fresh and raw. They were characters that I was very invested in. The story never drags and pulls you into their world, into Vince's pain, and Eric's resolve. I'm hoping for a sequel because I love the characters and the ending was much like a beginning. If you're looking for something different, Vince is a recommended read. ( )

Another teens story by J.M. Snyder. Vince and Eric were best friends. But when a guy begins to become a man, at 14 years old, Vince discovers that his feelings for Eric are not of friendship. He is in love with his pal and he dreams that love his mutual. And he is careless and daring and he declares his love expecting to be declared back... but Eric laughs, and histerical laught, true, but for a 14 years old guy so frail in the adult world, it is like a stab. He runs away and never turns back...

Vince's life changes. He becomes introverts and reserved, the classical troubled guy that everyone at school avoids. Eric instead, solar and friendly, is the best athlete and the perfect next door boy. But not always appearences are true, and now, few months before college, Vince has right in mind what he wants to do and Eric... Eric only knows that he wants his friend back. Only a friend? Maybe more.

But Vince doens't want to forget that damned laugh, doesn't want to forgive, cause he doesn't want to be wounded again.

A very tender and naive tale, about love and youth, about feelings that seem so strong when you are so young. Vince is a very interesting character, maybe with an hint of Dom-to-be in him, like Eric has a true submissive nature in him. The story has not a real end, so you can choose the end you prefer... love at seventeen years old is forever, life has not yet seeped her.

To my mind, the best way to describe Vince, a novella by J.M. Snyder, is to say that it is very reminiscent of bittersweet chocolate. The character's were interesting and real, the storyline was cliche but not necessarily boring, and the ending - though not a fairytale happy ending - is, again, realistic. I wouldn't recommend this to all, especially those who are going into the story believing that this will be like all of Snyder's other upbeat male romances, but I will say that it does deserve praise for what it is: a small realistic glimpse into two men's world, both of whom have made mistakes and are trying to find their way to a contented ever after, if not a happy one. ( )