With Boys Come First, Aaron Foley offers a delightful novel about romantic and career ambitions, friendship and the particular charms of and challenges faced by gay Black millennial men in Detroit...Boys Come First is rich in flavor and detail, benefiting from Remy's comprehensive knowledge of Motor City neighborhoods, Troy's hyperlocal concerns for his school and Dom's perspective as he returns from afar...The changing demographics of contemporary Detroit, by class but most pointedly by race, are front and center...Foley's novel shows range, with its fun, silly and pathos-filled handling of the love-and-sex storylines, serious commentary on social issues and an endearing representation of sincere (if troubled) friendships...Unforgettable characters, madcap fun and mishaps converge in this sweet and, finally, aspirational story.

... unfolds the romantic and professional misadventures of this group in the dishy, funny style of Armistead Maupin and Candace Bushnell, albeit with even more cheerfully raunchy sex ... And like Mr. Maupin’s and Ms. Bushnell’s iconic series, Boys Come First is also a tale of the city, in this case Detroit in the throes of gentrification. The dilemmas of family—and what such a thing might look like for gay men—are fruitfully bound up in broader questions of community as Detroit’s manic development threatens its identity. Mr. Foley knows the Motor City as intimately as he knows the workings of dating apps like Scruff and Grindr, and he details both with the swagger and fluency of a quality TV script. The only mystery, in fact, is which will come first: the HBO option or the sequel.

Nonfiction author Foley spares no detail in this fiction debut set in the Motor City, including depictions of sexual relationships...Foley creates a rich setting and strong characters...Each chapter shifts perspectives among the three men; Dominick’s and Troy’s chapters are written in third person, while Remy’s is written in the first to show his strong sense of self...Readers who enjoy character-driven romance, especially LGBTQ+ fiction, will appreciate this book...Some may be put off by the explicit sexual content, but the plot and the strong characters should keep them turning pages.

... charming ... Lighthearted and episodic ... Foley, a journalist and Detroit native, has written two nonfiction books about the city, and his love for and frustration with it shine through on every page. He spins through neighborhoods, name-checks intersections, catalogs some of its best bars and restaurants — while exploring whether one of Black America's capitals is becoming yet another fixer-upper for 'upstart white Detroiters' interested in reclaiming the city's ruined architectural glory ... The critiques never get too heavy-handed, though, and ultimately Foley is more interested in his characters' sex lives and dating mishaps than their views on gentrification ... Funny, contemporary and often amusingly raunchy, Boys Come First feels almost revolutionary in the way that Dominick, Troy and Remy aren't made to experience the kind of suffering over sexual orientation that once seemed a hallmark of queer literature. Foley gives us characters who are comfortable as gay men and proud to be Black men, but are still flawed, very human, wise and foolish in roughly equal measure. You probably know people like them.

Foley’s sparkling debut novel follows a trio of Black gay male friends in Detroit as they grapple with love, work, and gentrification...Foley’s love for his city and his engaging characters shines through, and his novel is funny, naughty, and comforting...This auspicious debut will leave readers eager for more.

Dominick, Troy, and Remy, three Black gay men in Detroit, are at a key turning point in their lives...Foley’s novel paints a vivid picture of Detroit gentrification pushing African American residents out in favor of high-priced condos, bougie restaurants, and new, White residents...The novel also excels at showing the ups and downs of the dating scene in Detroit...Dominick, Troy, and Remy experience steamy hookups, genuine connections, awkward encounters with closeted White men from the suburbs, and even an attempted rape...Foley has created original, striking characters; unfortunately, alternating among all three points of view sacrifices some of the plot’s momentum...Each man goes through dramatic ups and downs, but the larger story gets lost along the way...Sharp characters and a striking depiction of friendship within a story that never quite coheres.