Desperado

Unlike many other @Dabeagle stories, the main character doesn’t come from damaged family with abusive, violent and homophobic parents. His father is wise, reasonable man, full of understanding and support. Mother’s love is…ah, maybe too tough to handle occasionally because her attention can suffocate the loved ones. Noah is very strong character with integrity and attitude that can amaze you. Yes, he is also stubborn, a little bit asocial with shades of insecurity which is product of his humbleness. He is a bit a mystery to his surrounding which makes him point of romantic and sexual interest to some quite possessive people. Having only sexual flings in the past, he is longing for real love, relationship with dating, romance, caring and yes, as he finally admitted, cuddling too. He finds all of this in tall, blond and charming running mate Walker.

Another beautiful tele made in author's beloved universe Sanitaria Springs.

Noah likes to be alone and hides in his perceived averageness. He has had some flings in the past, but none of them has led to anything. The newly out jock Corey relentlessly seeks Noah out and makes dramatic romantic gestures, only to be relentlessly turned down. Just as Noah falls back into his habit of hiding in plain sight, he crosses paths with Walker, a fellow member of the cross country team his parents persuaded him to join. The organically slow brewing relationship between Noah and Walker is refreshing and beguilingly simple. 

Like Dabeagle's other memorable couples, they are very different from each other. But they are at peace with each other, and they luxuriate in each other's unintrusive companionship. Noah realizes how flawed his own friendships and pseudo-relationships were with others. Walker realizes how for the first time he was truly in love. They have little obstacles to overcome and past quarrels to settle. But it's all good and uplifting like their run together.

Noah has had a hell of a summer and is facing his senior year at school feeling lonely.  His "besties" Marc and Kendra have a complicated past and Noah is now a third wheel.  He's got weird parents, a part time job, lots of sexual experience, a creepy neighbor with an abused dog, a stalker from the ball team at school, and his one sport, running.  This is a very romantic love story set in the Sanitaria Springs universe.  Dabeagle has created a wonderful, complex story around a very common theme by trashing character tropes to develop unusual and interesting characters.  I highly recommend this book. 

There are a ton of stories on GA where there is a character who has his eye on someone he doesn't know but wants to get to know the person better more often then not the other person feels the same way and so in these stories the reader goes along for the journey until they become a couple. There are so many stories with this premise it is difficult not to go over same ground other authors have.This author manages to tell this kind of story again and again but its always fresh and never redundant.IMO he does this by blending people with different personalities and situations and with different types of supporting characters in each of their respective lives .You can make a strong case there are a few authors on GA who do it just as well( Off the top of my headI can count on one hand how many stories have matched this author) there are other who do it ALMOST as well but nobody and I mean nobody does this better than this author and in this particular story I believe he raised the bar a little

Read this story; it is a truly well written with characters that are inherently interesting.  That is my problem with giving it five stars; I feel in love with so many of the characters both main and secondary and just felt that there were too many storylines left open ended.  Sometimes that can work; you just decide for your self what happens when the story ends; my problem is that there are so many ways they could move forward.

The two main characters are exceptionally well written and developed.  There lives find a way to wiggle into your heart and you truly want to see them together.

There are two many secondary characters that might honestly deserve a story of their own, they are just that memorable.

Don't look at the star rating; that is because of my own rather exasperating annoying personality that allows me to obsess over something that others are able to just let go of.

This is a story that will grab you by the throat and you will want to race through each chapter; but take your time and savor them all...