What do you think?
Rate this book
The Second First Date
After years of an unrequited crush and exchanged secret looks, Mitchel Finch and Danny Rojas had one weekend of sex and self-discovery at a friend’s wedding. But when the morning after came, Danny got to return to his life in Philadelphia while Mitchel was left to deal with the fallout of publicly defending Danny from his high school bullies. He wasn’t quite dragged out of the closet, but he’s clinging to the door frame with the tips of his fingers and stubbornness.
Having grown up terrorized for his sexuality, Danny can’t imagine Mitchel ever choosing to be with him--even if the nights they shared were the most intensely amazing of his life. He knows Mitchel won’t risk his life or position in their small home town. No matter what Danny hopes for, he doesn’t expect they’ll get another shot.
Now, after weeks apart, they have two nights to explore their feelings for each other without fear of discovery or consequences. Is it enough to pull Mitchel out of hiding--and to convince Danny their connection is deeper than sex?
It’s all riding on their second chance at a first date.
Having grown up terrorized for his sexuality, Danny can’t imagine Mitchel ever choosing to be with him--even if the nights they shared were the most intensely amazing of his life. He knows Mitchel won’t risk his life or position in their small home town. No matter what Danny hopes for, he doesn’t expect they’ll get another shot.
Now, after weeks apart, they have two nights to explore their feelings for each other without fear of discovery or consequences. Is it enough to pull Mitchel out of hiding--and to convince Danny their connection is deeper than sex?
It’s all riding on their second chance at a first date.
100 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 16, 2017
6 people want to read
About the author
Marie Lark
5 books13 followersMarie Lark is a part-time teacher and a rest-of-the-time writer. She lives in New York with her very respectable husband and very tiny dog in an old house that has many stories of its own. Her favorite hobbies are tai chi and yoga, gardening, cooking, and flailing over her favorite characters in literature, television and film.
When not figuring out how to put her PhD in political science to use, she can be found with her journal or laptop, dreaming in the worlds she builds for her characters.
When not figuring out how to put her PhD in political science to use, she can be found with her journal or laptop, dreaming in the worlds she builds for her characters.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 14, 2017
I was given a copy of this book to read and review for Wicked Reads.
Six weeks after Danny and Mitchell’s emotional hometown reunion, Mitchel summons the courage to visit Danny in the city to see if there is any chance of a future for them together. The connection between them is strong, but with Danny justifiably wary of straight boys and Mitchel completely unsettled by Danny’s open life in his urban gayborhood, they don’t get off to the best start.
If the first story in this series focuses more on Danny coming to terms with his past, this second book focuses on Mitchel coming to terms with his sexuality and considering his future as a gay man. His options aren’t simple and he can’t simply let go of the hateful ideas he has grown up with.
As Danny observes Mitchel’s struggle, he is torn between protecting his heart and hoping for a HEA. I had more empathy for Mitchel in this second book but I still wanted to protect Danny from Mitchel’s hurtful comments and reactions. I loved Danny in his own environment. The confidence he lost when he returned to his home town is back and he is wonderful in the city.
I’m guessing this isn’t the end of the series because the author again refuses to force a HEA on Danny and Mitchel. After this second book, I’m heavily invested in Danny and Mitchel’s relationship but theirs is a seriously angsty, difficult story. Each of the two books only covers an interval of an emotionally charged few days in Danny and Mitchel’s lives. The result is intense but I still can’t imagine these two actually sharing life together.
I’m thoroughly surprised that this hasn’t been marketed as the second book in a series - I think readers who haven’t read The first Morning After would be completely lost. This definitely isn’t a stand alone story.
Six weeks after Danny and Mitchell’s emotional hometown reunion, Mitchel summons the courage to visit Danny in the city to see if there is any chance of a future for them together. The connection between them is strong, but with Danny justifiably wary of straight boys and Mitchel completely unsettled by Danny’s open life in his urban gayborhood, they don’t get off to the best start.
If the first story in this series focuses more on Danny coming to terms with his past, this second book focuses on Mitchel coming to terms with his sexuality and considering his future as a gay man. His options aren’t simple and he can’t simply let go of the hateful ideas he has grown up with.
As Danny observes Mitchel’s struggle, he is torn between protecting his heart and hoping for a HEA. I had more empathy for Mitchel in this second book but I still wanted to protect Danny from Mitchel’s hurtful comments and reactions. I loved Danny in his own environment. The confidence he lost when he returned to his home town is back and he is wonderful in the city.
I’m guessing this isn’t the end of the series because the author again refuses to force a HEA on Danny and Mitchel. After this second book, I’m heavily invested in Danny and Mitchel’s relationship but theirs is a seriously angsty, difficult story. Each of the two books only covers an interval of an emotionally charged few days in Danny and Mitchel’s lives. The result is intense but I still can’t imagine these two actually sharing life together.
I’m thoroughly surprised that this hasn’t been marketed as the second book in a series - I think readers who haven’t read The first Morning After would be completely lost. This definitely isn’t a stand alone story.
June 11, 2017
I received a free copy of this book to read and review for Wicked Reads.
Following on from The First Morning After, Mitchel and Danny's story continues with The Second First Date. Mitchel travels to the city to spend the weekend with Danny. But Mitchel is more than a little uncomfortable in the city's gay district. He is still in the closest and struggling with his emotions and what he should do.
Danny and Mitchel want to be with each other but they are coming from vey different places. There are repeated uncomfortable emotional situations and the story gives us a good amount of angst. I really liked seeing the difficulties these guys faced. I liked the realistic portrayal of their sex life. It is not perfect and the two of them learning about each other together.
As the story draws to a close it is clear that we will see more of Danny and Mitchel and I look forward to seeing where they go from here.
Following on from The First Morning After, Mitchel and Danny's story continues with The Second First Date. Mitchel travels to the city to spend the weekend with Danny. But Mitchel is more than a little uncomfortable in the city's gay district. He is still in the closest and struggling with his emotions and what he should do.
Danny and Mitchel want to be with each other but they are coming from vey different places. There are repeated uncomfortable emotional situations and the story gives us a good amount of angst. I really liked seeing the difficulties these guys faced. I liked the realistic portrayal of their sex life. It is not perfect and the two of them learning about each other together.
As the story draws to a close it is clear that we will see more of Danny and Mitchel and I look forward to seeing where they go from here.
June 7, 2017
I received a copy of this title to read and review for Wicked Reads
4.5 Emotional Stars
The Second First Date picks up approximately a month after the end of The First Morning After. I would advise against reading this as a standalone, even though this isn't listed as being in a series. This novella is a continuation of The First Morning After. To me, it reads more like a serial about Mitchel and Danny, with both books spanning a few days each in the lives of the characters.
Mitchel travels to Philadelphia to visit Danny for the weekend. The next 36-hours is a journey of emotional character development, without any other bells and whistles. The sole focus is on the relationship between Mitchel and Danny, which spans nearly their entire lifetime.
As the Golden Boy, Mitchel is in the closet to his family and everyone in their town. After the events in the previous novella, Danny fears the reception Mitchel is receiving at home. I was anticipatory while reading to know what was happening back in Peach Blossom myself, but the story sticks to Philadelphia, with a few paragraphs explaining what was going on back home.
The Second First Date was an enjoyable read, and I look forward to more about Mitchel and Danny in the future, as well as reading more by this author.
4.5 Emotional Stars
The Second First Date picks up approximately a month after the end of The First Morning After. I would advise against reading this as a standalone, even though this isn't listed as being in a series. This novella is a continuation of The First Morning After. To me, it reads more like a serial about Mitchel and Danny, with both books spanning a few days each in the lives of the characters.
Mitchel travels to Philadelphia to visit Danny for the weekend. The next 36-hours is a journey of emotional character development, without any other bells and whistles. The sole focus is on the relationship between Mitchel and Danny, which spans nearly their entire lifetime.
As the Golden Boy, Mitchel is in the closet to his family and everyone in their town. After the events in the previous novella, Danny fears the reception Mitchel is receiving at home. I was anticipatory while reading to know what was happening back in Peach Blossom myself, but the story sticks to Philadelphia, with a few paragraphs explaining what was going on back home.
The Second First Date was an enjoyable read, and I look forward to more about Mitchel and Danny in the future, as well as reading more by this author.
July 19, 2017
The Second First Date is a novella that follows two men from a small town in rural Pennsylvania. One is the town hero, the boy next door who has it all: a star baseball player, the hottest girlfriend, and popularity. Life would be perfect for a guy like this, right? The other is the flagrantly gay boy who everyone hated, taunted, and even abused physically as well.
When two characters of such different backgrounds and experiences connect, the magnetism and sexiness seems magnified and, to a degree, that was the case in this book. These were two unlikely people to come together and make a go of it. Part of the challenge was how different a place each one is in their lives. One had been out forever, while the other is just now coming to terms with his sexuality—exploring it in a physical way but never embracing the emotional side of loving another man. Still, Ms. Lark does a good job of building each character enough so we can really get inside their head and understand the progression of their internal struggle.
For me, Danny was a fantastic character. He had the courage to be who he was when he was younger, in an environment being gay was dangerous. As an adult, he lived responsibly yet unapologetically, and had a realistic view of the world. Yet, he still had dreams of having it all. He still believed his dreams could come true.
Mitchel was also a likable guy. First he stuck up for the gay kid back in high school, which started the whole rumor mill about his own sexuality. Then he managed to pry his closet open and step out into the world, breaking up with his girlfriend and exploring a truer side of himself. When he reflects on his life, he describes himself as living at 50%, only allowing half of himself to shine through. He admits that living this way hurt not only him but others who tied themselves to him. He even says at one point, “50% was a failing grade no matter how you cut it.” I particularly liked this analogy. Mitchel’s honesty made up for some of the crappy reactions he had throughout the story.
The sex was piping hot and very explicit and evocative. Each moment and touch came to life on the page, wrought with both emotion and sensation. Some books gloss over the sex or throw it in too much so that it takes away from the story. Not the case here. The sex is not only arousing, but also helps us to understand the characters and their relationship with one another even better.
I would definitely recommend this book but perhaps with a slight caution. At the end, I didn’t have that sweep-you-off-your-feet sense of celebration. I felt Mitchel still had a long way to go to be able to leap to the resolution he did. I was happy for the way things ended, but would have preferred to see Mitchel go through a bit more self-revelation before the book wound down to its conclusion. When I got to the last chapter, I wondered how the author would wrap everything up in a way that makes me believe each character is truly meant for the other. Had Mitchel reconciled his home life with the truth about himself, and living 100% (especially after his admission of living 50%), I would have felt much more satisfied, but that would have required that this novella extend to a longer novel.
Mitchel still has obstacles before he’s likely ready to enter a relationship that has a good chance of lasting. Bottom line is that Daniel and Mitchel are in different places, and I would anticipate they would have issues because of it. But the ending is left open enough that we, the readers, aren’t completely sure where their relationship will head. Perhaps they’ll make a go of it, fail, and end up as best friends. Whatever their future, they ended up in a good place, and that was rewarding. Part of me wanted an epilogue so I’d know how it all turned out, but I think this book was better-served without one.
All in all, an enjoyable read and an intriguing exploration of coming out, being gay, and living honestly.
Reviewed by Taz for The Novel Approach
When two characters of such different backgrounds and experiences connect, the magnetism and sexiness seems magnified and, to a degree, that was the case in this book. These were two unlikely people to come together and make a go of it. Part of the challenge was how different a place each one is in their lives. One had been out forever, while the other is just now coming to terms with his sexuality—exploring it in a physical way but never embracing the emotional side of loving another man. Still, Ms. Lark does a good job of building each character enough so we can really get inside their head and understand the progression of their internal struggle.
For me, Danny was a fantastic character. He had the courage to be who he was when he was younger, in an environment being gay was dangerous. As an adult, he lived responsibly yet unapologetically, and had a realistic view of the world. Yet, he still had dreams of having it all. He still believed his dreams could come true.
Mitchel was also a likable guy. First he stuck up for the gay kid back in high school, which started the whole rumor mill about his own sexuality. Then he managed to pry his closet open and step out into the world, breaking up with his girlfriend and exploring a truer side of himself. When he reflects on his life, he describes himself as living at 50%, only allowing half of himself to shine through. He admits that living this way hurt not only him but others who tied themselves to him. He even says at one point, “50% was a failing grade no matter how you cut it.” I particularly liked this analogy. Mitchel’s honesty made up for some of the crappy reactions he had throughout the story.
The sex was piping hot and very explicit and evocative. Each moment and touch came to life on the page, wrought with both emotion and sensation. Some books gloss over the sex or throw it in too much so that it takes away from the story. Not the case here. The sex is not only arousing, but also helps us to understand the characters and their relationship with one another even better.
I would definitely recommend this book but perhaps with a slight caution. At the end, I didn’t have that sweep-you-off-your-feet sense of celebration. I felt Mitchel still had a long way to go to be able to leap to the resolution he did. I was happy for the way things ended, but would have preferred to see Mitchel go through a bit more self-revelation before the book wound down to its conclusion. When I got to the last chapter, I wondered how the author would wrap everything up in a way that makes me believe each character is truly meant for the other. Had Mitchel reconciled his home life with the truth about himself, and living 100% (especially after his admission of living 50%), I would have felt much more satisfied, but that would have required that this novella extend to a longer novel.
Mitchel still has obstacles before he’s likely ready to enter a relationship that has a good chance of lasting. Bottom line is that Daniel and Mitchel are in different places, and I would anticipate they would have issues because of it. But the ending is left open enough that we, the readers, aren’t completely sure where their relationship will head. Perhaps they’ll make a go of it, fail, and end up as best friends. Whatever their future, they ended up in a good place, and that was rewarding. Part of me wanted an epilogue so I’d know how it all turned out, but I think this book was better-served without one.
All in all, an enjoyable read and an intriguing exploration of coming out, being gay, and living honestly.
Reviewed by Taz for The Novel Approach
June 20, 2017
The blogger Girls
I am not sure why this book is not listed as a sequel to The First Morning After, but you must read that book first or you will be totally lost. That book takes place over a couple days, the same as this one basically takes place a few weeks after Danny and Mitchel first hook up. This story takes them on to the next step…will Michel take a chance on Danny, will he leave his small town, and will he come out of closet and stop hiding.
Mitchel is struggling, but he is drawn to Danny and wants so much to make the effort. Fortunately, unlike book one, there is no violence or bullying that Danny must endure while Mitchel watches from the sidelines. He has guilt for not protecting Danny when they were younger, but now in the gay world, Danny is in charge and Mitchel must rely on him. Navigating this new world is hard for him and we can’t expect him to change overnight. Fortunately, Danny doesn’t expect him to go clubbing to prove he’s into him, just be with him and try. And he does.
This is a short story and must be read in order. We get a tentative happy-for-now, but I am sure they are heading in the right direction. Don’t go into these expecting a complete resolution as the time frame is barely a few days, but what we get is satisfying.
Overall Impression: I really liked it!
I am not sure why this book is not listed as a sequel to The First Morning After, but you must read that book first or you will be totally lost. That book takes place over a couple days, the same as this one basically takes place a few weeks after Danny and Mitchel first hook up. This story takes them on to the next step…will Michel take a chance on Danny, will he leave his small town, and will he come out of closet and stop hiding.
Mitchel is struggling, but he is drawn to Danny and wants so much to make the effort. Fortunately, unlike book one, there is no violence or bullying that Danny must endure while Mitchel watches from the sidelines. He has guilt for not protecting Danny when they were younger, but now in the gay world, Danny is in charge and Mitchel must rely on him. Navigating this new world is hard for him and we can’t expect him to change overnight. Fortunately, Danny doesn’t expect him to go clubbing to prove he’s into him, just be with him and try. And he does.
This is a short story and must be read in order. We get a tentative happy-for-now, but I am sure they are heading in the right direction. Don’t go into these expecting a complete resolution as the time frame is barely a few days, but what we get is satisfying.
Overall Impression: I really liked it!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews