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Gay Youth Chronicles Complete Chronology #13
Disastrous Dates & Dream Boys
Disastrous Dates & Dream Boys is the story of teenaged boys who want what we all want, to love and be loved. The boys from A Better Place are back. Shawn yearns for a boyfriend, but fears his father's wrath if he discovers the truth. Dane, too, is seeking a soul mate and trying to leave his checkered past behind. He yearns for Billy, but if he approaches him will the result be happiness or disaster? Brendan has created a new life for himself and his boyfriend, Casper, but what happened in his old hometown haunts him and he realizes he must face his father if he is to ever be at peace. Nathan also has issues to resolve with the parents who gave him and his little brother up far too easily. Disastrous Dates & Dream Boys is a tale of fathers & sons, lovers & friends, and above all love and understanding.
293 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2007
5 people are currently reading
112 people want to read
About the author
Mark A. Roeder
99 books211 followersMark A. Roeder grew up in southern Indiana - near a small town similar to those that appear in his novels.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 13, 2013
I've been dying to start The Summer of My Discontent since I got it, but I wasn't finished with Outfield Menace yet. I wasn't expecting to get the new book until the 21st. As it turns out, I got it two days early and had to put up with Olivia spoiling half the books. *sigh* But that's alright. I'm starting it today, April 20th.
Just finished reading through the first bit, Dane's bit. I'm not entirely sure what to make of him yet, though I've been warned that he's an asshole. All I know for sure is that he's a runaway. From where? I'm not sure. Why he ran away? I don't know, not yet. I'm looking forward to getting to know this new character, even though he might be an asshole.
I'm also curious about this mysterious man that shared Dane's Coke. I'm hoping he'll come back into the story, I have a feeling that he will.
Now I'm at the beginning of Ethan's part, and I totally didn't just fangirl over seeing his name¡¦okay, maybe I did. But only a little.
It seems like ages since I've read A Better Place, but really¡¦maybe it has been. After all, that was the first book in the series I had read. So starting Casper's part is like being reintroduced to some old friends I haven't seen in awhile. It's refreshing and brings a smile to my face.
There seems to be a drought and it's obviously affecting the Shelby farm, but other than that, it seems life has finally settled for the boys and they're experiencing some well, and hard deserved normalcy. And just when I think everything is peachy clean and wonderful in the world, I find out that Jack's in danger of losing the farm. But it's Brendan to the rescue. I hope it's enough to save the farm.
Dane's back, and so is his mystery guy who now has a name -- Austin (which, incidentally, is my nephew's middle name). It's going to be interesting reading about Dane chasing after Austin since I can't seem to pin if he's honestly interested in him or not. I halfway don't think he is, but then again, you never know.
Boothe gives off this aura of danger, more so than then Austin. Not the 'hot' sort of danger, the red flag sort of danger. I wonder what his role is and how he's connected to Austin. And, Dane, he likes to spawn lies. Great tales of mistruths that grow and grow. I wonder if he'll ever be caught in one. I wonder why he really left home.
I'm not so sure I like Dane. And I'm -really- nervous about his fascination with Casper. I really hope he doesn't bully Casper into doing something with him, but I think Casper is weary of Dane. If he knows what's good for him, he'll leave Casper alone. Or else he'll have Brendan to deal with.
Brendan got on Dane's ass about Casper, I knew he would. And was he PISSED. I don't even think pissed off covers it. Dane was touched by God that day in the park when Brendan didn't punch his face in. And then Dane has to go and blackmail Ethan. Really? *rolls eyes* This boy MUST have a death wish.
He's such an asshole. A horny asshole. I'm at the point wondering what in the hell he'll do next and what trouble he'll get himself into, because you know it's coming. He's on the fast track to a good beating and I can't say that he doesn't deserve it.
Also. I'm seriously wondering what Ethan's going to do about his lust towards Brendan. I personally think he ought to talk to Nathan about it, at least, that seems like the most logical route to take. I've also noticed that Brendan doesn't seem to return the feelings, or at the very least, they haven't been touched on like Ethan's have.
And, fyi, Mark and Taylor's birthday party almost made me cry. Seriously. I was pouting and wibbling throughout the whole bit. *shakes head* It was really sweet though.
I'm glad that Ethan decided to tell Nathan about Dane, and I was even happier when Dane confronted Nathan and he sent Dane on his way. I'm still waiting for everything to blow up in Dane's face however¡¦
omg! Letter from Jason! Now Olivia told me that he ends up redeeming himself and becomes a likable character¡¦but, I dunno¡¦I'm still out on that. I'll have to read and see.
Dane, I think, is such a tragic character. He wants a boyfriend, someone to love. But he's too obsessed with sex and he keeps going about it the wrong way. I wonder if something will happen between him and Shawn (long shot, I know) in future books. I'll have to wait and see~ *wiggles*
Ugh! Spoke too freaking soon concerning Dane and Shawn!! *cries* Dane was freaking eavesdropping on Shawn's conversation with Casper and now knows he's gay and in a rather horrible position. Dane¡¦you're an asshole if you go after Shawn, which I know you will because¡¦fuck you're an asshole.
I'm off to read more before I shower and head to bed! More thoughts and junk tomorrow!
Oh! Oh! Dane does have a heart! Though Austin sort of smashed it into tiny little pieces, but I saw glimmers of it when he let Shawn off. Perhaps there's hope for Dane yet!
Jon and Brandon are fucking fantastic. I feel sorry for Brandon's relationship with his dad, but God is the kid crazy. Suggesting that he kiss a boy just to freak his dad out¡¦
*shakes head*
I don't have a lot of love for Dane, but I sure do feel sorry for him when Booth goes after him. I wonder what Booth's deal is. I want to say that Dane deserved what he nearly got, but he didn't. No one deserves that. I do think, however, it'll make him rethink a few things. Maybe he'll be less likely to blackmail or threaten someone into having sex with him.
It goes to show what sort of people Ethan and Shawn are. Despite of what Dane tried to do to them, they still helped him.
Gr! One crisis adverted only to have another befall the boys!! Damn you, Tom! You crazy psycho bastard!! *huffs* Just when things are looking good, the shit has to hit the fan and crazy homophobes have to find guns! Great! Gah!! *goes back to reading*
Yay for Mrs. Pearson!! I totally wasn't expecting them to come into the money in that way, but I'm glad things worked themselves out. I'm glad Dane took Ethan's advice and is concentrating on taking things slow instead of just diving into sex. I can't wait to follow up on Dane's story!! :)
Holy shit he burned the Cloverdale Center! :O Wow, Jason! I don't know what to say¡¦
¡¦I WAS NOT expecting THAT!!
D'aw! They got the plaque for Mark and Taylor! Shit! I'm crying again!!!
Just finished reading through the first bit, Dane's bit. I'm not entirely sure what to make of him yet, though I've been warned that he's an asshole. All I know for sure is that he's a runaway. From where? I'm not sure. Why he ran away? I don't know, not yet. I'm looking forward to getting to know this new character, even though he might be an asshole.
I'm also curious about this mysterious man that shared Dane's Coke. I'm hoping he'll come back into the story, I have a feeling that he will.
Now I'm at the beginning of Ethan's part, and I totally didn't just fangirl over seeing his name¡¦okay, maybe I did. But only a little.
It seems like ages since I've read A Better Place, but really¡¦maybe it has been. After all, that was the first book in the series I had read. So starting Casper's part is like being reintroduced to some old friends I haven't seen in awhile. It's refreshing and brings a smile to my face.
There seems to be a drought and it's obviously affecting the Shelby farm, but other than that, it seems life has finally settled for the boys and they're experiencing some well, and hard deserved normalcy. And just when I think everything is peachy clean and wonderful in the world, I find out that Jack's in danger of losing the farm. But it's Brendan to the rescue. I hope it's enough to save the farm.
Dane's back, and so is his mystery guy who now has a name -- Austin (which, incidentally, is my nephew's middle name). It's going to be interesting reading about Dane chasing after Austin since I can't seem to pin if he's honestly interested in him or not. I halfway don't think he is, but then again, you never know.
Boothe gives off this aura of danger, more so than then Austin. Not the 'hot' sort of danger, the red flag sort of danger. I wonder what his role is and how he's connected to Austin. And, Dane, he likes to spawn lies. Great tales of mistruths that grow and grow. I wonder if he'll ever be caught in one. I wonder why he really left home.
I'm not so sure I like Dane. And I'm -really- nervous about his fascination with Casper. I really hope he doesn't bully Casper into doing something with him, but I think Casper is weary of Dane. If he knows what's good for him, he'll leave Casper alone. Or else he'll have Brendan to deal with.
Brendan got on Dane's ass about Casper, I knew he would. And was he PISSED. I don't even think pissed off covers it. Dane was touched by God that day in the park when Brendan didn't punch his face in. And then Dane has to go and blackmail Ethan. Really? *rolls eyes* This boy MUST have a death wish.
He's such an asshole. A horny asshole. I'm at the point wondering what in the hell he'll do next and what trouble he'll get himself into, because you know it's coming. He's on the fast track to a good beating and I can't say that he doesn't deserve it.
Also. I'm seriously wondering what Ethan's going to do about his lust towards Brendan. I personally think he ought to talk to Nathan about it, at least, that seems like the most logical route to take. I've also noticed that Brendan doesn't seem to return the feelings, or at the very least, they haven't been touched on like Ethan's have.
And, fyi, Mark and Taylor's birthday party almost made me cry. Seriously. I was pouting and wibbling throughout the whole bit. *shakes head* It was really sweet though.
I'm glad that Ethan decided to tell Nathan about Dane, and I was even happier when Dane confronted Nathan and he sent Dane on his way. I'm still waiting for everything to blow up in Dane's face however¡¦
omg! Letter from Jason! Now Olivia told me that he ends up redeeming himself and becomes a likable character¡¦but, I dunno¡¦I'm still out on that. I'll have to read and see.
Dane, I think, is such a tragic character. He wants a boyfriend, someone to love. But he's too obsessed with sex and he keeps going about it the wrong way. I wonder if something will happen between him and Shawn (long shot, I know) in future books. I'll have to wait and see~ *wiggles*
Ugh! Spoke too freaking soon concerning Dane and Shawn!! *cries* Dane was freaking eavesdropping on Shawn's conversation with Casper and now knows he's gay and in a rather horrible position. Dane¡¦you're an asshole if you go after Shawn, which I know you will because¡¦fuck you're an asshole.
I'm off to read more before I shower and head to bed! More thoughts and junk tomorrow!
Oh! Oh! Dane does have a heart! Though Austin sort of smashed it into tiny little pieces, but I saw glimmers of it when he let Shawn off. Perhaps there's hope for Dane yet!
Jon and Brandon are fucking fantastic. I feel sorry for Brandon's relationship with his dad, but God is the kid crazy. Suggesting that he kiss a boy just to freak his dad out¡¦
*shakes head*
I don't have a lot of love for Dane, but I sure do feel sorry for him when Booth goes after him. I wonder what Booth's deal is. I want to say that Dane deserved what he nearly got, but he didn't. No one deserves that. I do think, however, it'll make him rethink a few things. Maybe he'll be less likely to blackmail or threaten someone into having sex with him.
It goes to show what sort of people Ethan and Shawn are. Despite of what Dane tried to do to them, they still helped him.
Gr! One crisis adverted only to have another befall the boys!! Damn you, Tom! You crazy psycho bastard!! *huffs* Just when things are looking good, the shit has to hit the fan and crazy homophobes have to find guns! Great! Gah!! *goes back to reading*
Yay for Mrs. Pearson!! I totally wasn't expecting them to come into the money in that way, but I'm glad things worked themselves out. I'm glad Dane took Ethan's advice and is concentrating on taking things slow instead of just diving into sex. I can't wait to follow up on Dane's story!! :)
Holy shit he burned the Cloverdale Center! :O Wow, Jason! I don't know what to say¡¦
¡¦I WAS NOT expecting THAT!!
D'aw! They got the plaque for Mark and Taylor! Shit! I'm crying again!!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 9, 2025
Just and Incredible Story!
The stories this author writes bring you inside the hearts, minds, and lives of each character. These stories have a warmth and unity of the lives involved that makes you part of the action. These stories make us reflect on our current and past decisions and actions. We see a small glimpse of the hurt and turmoil evil can do to a growing mind. I am Blessed and Inspired that I found these books by this author and hope to read them all.
The stories this author writes bring you inside the hearts, minds, and lives of each character. These stories have a warmth and unity of the lives involved that makes you part of the action. These stories make us reflect on our current and past decisions and actions. We see a small glimpse of the hurt and turmoil evil can do to a growing mind. I am Blessed and Inspired that I found these books by this author and hope to read them all.
July 10, 2015
All the boys from "The Summer of my Discontent" are back and looking for love... in all the wrong places. Poor guys are stuck in a town that has so many gay boys but all the gay boys are to afraid to be open about it due to what happened to Mark and Taylor. It's a heart wrenching tale as all of the books in this series are but as always things that are meant to happen do.
June 7, 2013
Continues the story of the Gay Boys of Verona. The pace is leisurely and nothing momentous happens, but the characters deepen.
July 18, 2017
Catching up on the guys again before reading the books in the series that I missed.
April 5, 2017
4.5⭐ A Mark A. Roeder Gay Youth Chronicles continuation book. I have followed the Verona gay boys from their origins. Very enjoyable and I recommend you read this series from the beginning and continue chronologically. The character development and the period anti-gay story development makes this series pleasurable reading.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews