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The Idiots' Tango
Dear Author,
My two men can’t STAND each other. It’s not a general dislike and it’s not a case where they can avoid each other.
Unfortunately, they share a circle of friends and family
They met when they were in high school and there seemed to be a bit of attraction despite their vast differences, but something happened and they are at each other’s throats. Verbal throw-downs, the occasional thrown punch has happened at more than a few shared get togethers.
Dear Author, how can two men who can’t stand each other come to realize that the other man is the one person they can’t and don’t want to live without?
Photo Description:
1. At the beach, a man with close-cropped hair and the physique of a Greek god hefts a rugby ball. Dark hair dusts his arms, legs, and chest. Another smattering of hair dips from his navel into the waistband of a very small pair of shorts.
2. Two men grapple as they brawl, anger and adrenaline spurring them on. Neither will be the first to give in.
3. A young man with beautiful eyes and a two-day scruff of beard stands on a train platform. His jeans are worn, and his linen shirt is wrinkled but clean. He has a backpack slung over one shoulder, beaded bracelets on his left wrist and a fedora covering his dark hair
This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love Has No Boundaries" event. Group members were asked to write a story prompt inspired by a photo of their choice. Authors of the group selected a photo and prompt that spoke to them and wrote a short story.
My two men can’t STAND each other. It’s not a general dislike and it’s not a case where they can avoid each other.
Unfortunately, they share a circle of friends and family
They met when they were in high school and there seemed to be a bit of attraction despite their vast differences, but something happened and they are at each other’s throats. Verbal throw-downs, the occasional thrown punch has happened at more than a few shared get togethers.
Dear Author, how can two men who can’t stand each other come to realize that the other man is the one person they can’t and don’t want to live without?
Photo Description:
1. At the beach, a man with close-cropped hair and the physique of a Greek god hefts a rugby ball. Dark hair dusts his arms, legs, and chest. Another smattering of hair dips from his navel into the waistband of a very small pair of shorts.
2. Two men grapple as they brawl, anger and adrenaline spurring them on. Neither will be the first to give in.
3. A young man with beautiful eyes and a two-day scruff of beard stands on a train platform. His jeans are worn, and his linen shirt is wrinkled but clean. He has a backpack slung over one shoulder, beaded bracelets on his left wrist and a fedora covering his dark hair
This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love Has No Boundaries" event. Group members were asked to write a story prompt inspired by a photo of their choice. Authors of the group selected a photo and prompt that spoke to them and wrote a short story.
139 pages, ebook
First published June 30, 2013
1 person is currently reading
115 people want to read
About the author
B. Snow
8 books21 followersA west-coast transplant to Georgia. Love the heat, hate the mosquitoes.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews
June 30, 2013
I love it when a story leaves me with a big cheesy smile on my face. I’m just going to sit here and list all the things I love about this story.
I love Josh. I liked being inside his POV. I wanted to crawl in there and roll around. He’s amusing, adorable, and a rugby player. Yum. Basically, I picture him as a cheeky, well built, Teddy Bear that tackles people for fun.
I both love and hate Stu. He is, without a doubt, a dick for most of the story. He pretty much comes off as an abrasive prude. I mean, I could completely tell where he was coming from, and sympathize. BUT, due to my unconditional love for Josh (who is by no means perfect), I spent a lot of the time indignant on his behalf. I’ll settle for saying I loved to hate Stu. And occasionally I wanted to smother him in hugs.
I love their bickering. It kept the smile on my face. Even when I wanted to karate chop Stu in the throat, I was smiling. And Josh (who is probably also a bit of a dick, but can do no wrong in my eyes), made me giggle when he burned Stu with comments like the following:
“Josh stopped, swaying a little as he looked at Stu. ‘How do you fit it all in?’
‘Fit all what in?’
‘The stick up your ass.’”
I am undecided about whether or not I love or hate the epilogue.
I have a weak spot for the whole enemies to lovers thing, and this was done really well, so right now I’m like content little kitten after a bowl of cream. (You shouldn’t actually give your kitties bowls of cream). But you understand that this is how satisfied I am:
Check out that cream-stache.
If you haven’t figured it out. I LOVED The Idiots’ Tango. I want more. I am a greedy greedy person, and I want MORE.
4.5 Stars
I love Josh. I liked being inside his POV. I wanted to crawl in there and roll around. He’s amusing, adorable, and a rugby player. Yum. Basically, I picture him as a cheeky, well built, Teddy Bear that tackles people for fun.
I both love and hate Stu. He is, without a doubt, a dick for most of the story. He pretty much comes off as an abrasive prude. I mean, I could completely tell where he was coming from, and sympathize. BUT, due to my unconditional love for Josh (who is by no means perfect), I spent a lot of the time indignant on his behalf. I’ll settle for saying I loved to hate Stu. And occasionally I wanted to smother him in hugs.
I love their bickering. It kept the smile on my face. Even when I wanted to karate chop Stu in the throat, I was smiling. And Josh (who is probably also a bit of a dick, but can do no wrong in my eyes), made me giggle when he burned Stu with comments like the following:
“Josh stopped, swaying a little as he looked at Stu. ‘How do you fit it all in?’
‘Fit all what in?’
‘The stick up your ass.’”
I am undecided about whether or not I love or hate the epilogue.
I have a weak spot for the whole enemies to lovers thing, and this was done really well, so right now I’m like content little kitten after a bowl of cream. (You shouldn’t actually give your kitties bowls of cream). But you understand that this is how satisfied I am:
Check out that cream-stache.
If you haven’t figured it out. I LOVED The Idiots’ Tango. I want more. I am a greedy greedy person, and I want MORE.
4.5 Stars
July 14, 2013
I loved this story! It was a wonderful journey, spanning many years, from Josh and Stu's first meeting and kiss that triggers it all.
Josh and Stu don't see a lot of each other during this time but when they do, sparks fly - usually as they are annoying each other or fighting. Things never end well!
We follow Josh through his career as a professional rugby player and experience all the joys and sorrows of his family life from funerals to weddings, all of which seem to be intertwined with Stu's family as Josh and Stu's sisters are best friends.
The final scenes are brilliant - Josh and Stu finally get it together and . There's tension and stupidity, some sadness and finally happiness plus the story has some genuinely funny moments.
Best line? Josh meeting an older gay couple at a wedding... "Why, when I was young, I had to walk five miles in the snow to get to the nearest glory hole."
Once again I feel blessed to get such a great story for free!
Josh and Stu don't see a lot of each other during this time but when they do, sparks fly - usually as they are annoying each other or fighting. Things never end well!
We follow Josh through his career as a professional rugby player and experience all the joys and sorrows of his family life from funerals to weddings, all of which seem to be intertwined with Stu's family as Josh and Stu's sisters are best friends.
The final scenes are brilliant - Josh and Stu finally get it together and . There's tension and stupidity, some sadness and finally happiness plus the story has some genuinely funny moments.
Best line? Josh meeting an older gay couple at a wedding... "Why, when I was young, I had to walk five miles in the snow to get to the nearest glory hole."
Once again I feel blessed to get such a great story for free!
September 20, 2013
Oh, I just loved that! Thank you, B.Snow!
I liked the interplay of family relationships, and that the women characters were three-dimensional. I liked that there was rugby :)
I thought the pacing was great: the spaces between the scenes were enough to feel like the MCs were actually growing older (and wiser?) but not so large that it seemed jerky.
I really enjoyed the dialogue. Josh was foot-in-mouth enough to be believable without making him a buffoon.
I also really liked the small side-characters like Zach. They all seemed to contribute to a sense of a very real world.
For me this was a perfect, low-key, no-angst Friday read.
4.5 stars rounded up for being part of LHNB.
I liked the interplay of family relationships, and that the women characters were three-dimensional. I liked that there was rugby :)
I thought the pacing was great: the spaces between the scenes were enough to feel like the MCs were actually growing older (and wiser?) but not so large that it seemed jerky.
I really enjoyed the dialogue. Josh was foot-in-mouth enough to be believable without making him a buffoon.
I also really liked the small side-characters like Zach. They all seemed to contribute to a sense of a very real world.
For me this was a perfect, low-key, no-angst Friday read.
4.5 stars rounded up for being part of LHNB.
July 6, 2013
2.5 stars This was very disappointing because it took until the end of the book before it became any kind of romance. The supposed main couple Josh & Stu do not even have a meaningful conversation until 88% on my Kindle. That's way, way too late if you're writing a romance story.
Other problems: The story is from Josh's point of view so we get his story only. He meets up with Sid maybe 4 times over the course of about 10 years, at weddings, funerals & vacations. Each time they say stupid things to one another, get into fights and then separate. Throughout that time Josh figures he's gay, acquires various lovers, becomes a college Rugby player, becomes a pro player, gets invited into threesomes, argues with parents, visits sister & her hubby, retires from sport etc.
This story of Josh & Stu is not a romance for 90% of this story.There was no unresolved sexual tension. There was no love/hate relationship. They just didn't like each other when they met up on social occasions.
Stu also had no redeeming qualities that I saw. He was a judgmental Mr. Priss Pot throughout. Just unlikable enough that no sane man would be carrying a torch for him. Not believable at all.
The rating this gets is that it did follow the prompt and had good enough writing even if it wasn't a story I particularly wanted to read.
Other problems: The story is from Josh's point of view so we get his story only. He meets up with Sid maybe 4 times over the course of about 10 years, at weddings, funerals & vacations. Each time they say stupid things to one another, get into fights and then separate. Throughout that time Josh figures he's gay, acquires various lovers, becomes a college Rugby player, becomes a pro player, gets invited into threesomes, argues with parents, visits sister & her hubby, retires from sport etc.
This story of Josh & Stu is not a romance for 90% of this story.There was no unresolved sexual tension. There was no love/hate relationship. They just didn't like each other when they met up on social occasions.
Stu also had no redeeming qualities that I saw. He was a judgmental Mr. Priss Pot throughout. Just unlikable enough that no sane man would be carrying a torch for him. Not believable at all.
The rating this gets is that it did follow the prompt and had good enough writing even if it wasn't a story I particularly wanted to read.
June 30, 2013
It's pretty hard to keep two men hating each other, but one way to achieve this is to only let them spend a couple of hours in each other's company every 3 years or so.
This short (long) story spans 15 or so years, from 16 yr old Josh's first bumbling attempt at kissing Stu Edelstein through to him at 29, body worn out from 8 years of professional rubgy playing.
It's occasions such as weddings (yay happy) and funerals (hiss sad) that bring these boys together and they just can't be in the same room without a drama, or a fight or tense horrible silence.
Everything is told from Josh's viewpoint and although he does do and say some hurtful things, Stu's behaviour is also irrational and out-of-character.
Aaah, the mysteries of love. This is very long (so yay) and absorbing, and sometimes funny, and a couple of times, really really sad.
Totally enjoyable.
This short (long) story spans 15 or so years, from 16 yr old Josh's first bumbling attempt at kissing Stu Edelstein through to him at 29, body worn out from 8 years of professional rubgy playing.
It's occasions such as weddings (yay happy) and funerals (hiss sad) that bring these boys together and they just can't be in the same room without a drama, or a fight or tense horrible silence.
Everything is told from Josh's viewpoint and although he does do and say some hurtful things, Stu's behaviour is also irrational and out-of-character.
Aaah, the mysteries of love. This is very long (so yay) and absorbing, and sometimes funny, and a couple of times, really really sad.
Totally enjoyable.
November 20, 2014
4.5 stars. I think this might be my favourite so far of the LHNB event. I love the enemies-to-lovers trope and this is a great example. They don't get together till the end but the fighting was just like foreplay!
July 11, 2013
This story put a smile on my face. There's a very, very, very slow buildup to the romance between Josh and Stu. It picks up a lot more towards the end and it works for me.
Apparently, it's obvious to everyone around them but not Josh (and really not that obvious to the reader) that there's some kind of chemistry between the two guys. We see the whole story from Josh's POV which lessens the reader's omniscience about what's really happening (but pfft, it's a romance novel. We KNOW anyway!)
I love how slow their relationship builds. I really like how they're completely pissing each other off every time they meet. It just makes the inevitable connection all that more yummy. The ending was adorable.
This whole story was pretty believable to me and I enjoyed reading it a lot.
Apparently, it's obvious to everyone around them but not Josh (and really not that obvious to the reader) that there's some kind of chemistry between the two guys. We see the whole story from Josh's POV which lessens the reader's omniscience about what's really happening (but pfft, it's a romance novel. We KNOW anyway!)
I love how slow their relationship builds. I really like how they're completely pissing each other off every time they meet. It just makes the inevitable connection all that more yummy. The ending was adorable.
This whole story was pretty believable to me and I enjoyed reading it a lot.
July 8, 2013
Good job.
And one of the lengthiest, most involved and developed stories of the LHNB collection.
And one of the lengthiest, most involved and developed stories of the LHNB collection.
July 11, 2013
4.5
This year's LHNB event sure has some great stories to offer and this one is one of the best. It's the enemies-to-lover theme revisited (oh, how I love that ;-D) and it's well done. If you look for an easy resolution of the conflict and then lots of sex, you should go somewhere else - Josh and Stu really are enemies almost throughout the whole story. Things between them start off slightly ambivalent and then only get worse, showing perfectly how preconceived notions and a misattribution of emotional excitement bias your perception and serve you exactly what you expect.
Despite the long, slow build up here (I can be pretty impatient when it comes to that...), it was damn entertaining and enjoyable to read and I loved every second of it!
Fantastic contribution to LHNB!
This year's LHNB event sure has some great stories to offer and this one is one of the best. It's the enemies-to-lover theme revisited (oh, how I love that ;-D) and it's well done. If you look for an easy resolution of the conflict and then lots of sex, you should go somewhere else - Josh and Stu really are enemies almost throughout the whole story. Things between them start off slightly ambivalent and then only get worse, showing perfectly how preconceived notions and a misattribution of emotional excitement bias your perception and serve you exactly what you expect.
Despite the long, slow build up here (I can be pretty impatient when it comes to that...), it was damn entertaining and enjoyable to read and I loved every second of it!
Fantastic contribution to LHNB!
July 1, 2013
LHNB Story released 30.6.13
A little over 3 stars
This extended family drama tells the story of two very different young men from the ages of around 15 to 30 as they meet and misunderstand each other over the years. There is a strong supporting cast in the background, but an awful lot of misunderstanding and lack of communication. I liked Josh, whose voice narrated the story, but couldn't warm to Stuart at all.
A little over 3 stars
This extended family drama tells the story of two very different young men from the ages of around 15 to 30 as they meet and misunderstand each other over the years. There is a strong supporting cast in the background, but an awful lot of misunderstanding and lack of communication. I liked Josh, whose voice narrated the story, but couldn't warm to Stuart at all.
June 30, 2013
I just loved this! I loved how much time this story spanned, from them being high school kids to 30 year old men. Great characters, and just excellent writing...this was very enjoyable. A few times I was frustrated with Stu haha, but I'm glad they worked it all out and both guys got their HEA. Thanks for writing such a complex, wonderful story!
September 19, 2013
What have you done to me, B Snow?
Suffice to say there are many aspects to this story that are usually deal-breakers for me and I admit, I avoided reading this one for just that reason. BUT I loved this! LOVED it! Eloquent, real, balanced... every character had depth and added to the story. A true love story, a story of love.
Suffice to say there are many aspects to this story that are usually deal-breakers for me and I admit, I avoided reading this one for just that reason. BUT I loved this! LOVED it! Eloquent, real, balanced... every character had depth and added to the story. A true love story, a story of love.
March 17, 2016
3.5 stars. There was not enough of the relationship to round it up. I really liked the enemy part. Nice twist about Stu in the end. I liked the easy play with bi, gay, straight... Josh is such an interesting character. To just name him a prick wouldn't do him justice. There's much more. I'd loved to read from Stu's POV in that case too. A lot actually.
July 9, 2013
Funny and charming family tableau that takes a few twists and turns. Nice job of handling the awkward decade + timeline. But seriously, who can fill up on matzah?
Favorite quote:
‘Rubgy teams are like boy bands. At least one bloke’s got to be gay.’
Favorite quote:
‘Rubgy teams are like boy bands. At least one bloke’s got to be gay.’
July 15, 2013
This could have been so good. I've always loved an enemies to lovers story. But when you have a book like this, for me, it's hard to connect. The MC's did not become a couple until the story was almost over... Not something you want to be able to say...
May 2, 2017
I LOVED this story. I admit, I favor enemies to lovers themes so this book was right up my alley.
June 16, 2015
This fit the prompt wonderfully! It's a little sad they spent so much time fighting though.
January 29, 2022
3.5 stars
February 10, 2014
Offered for FREE from the M/M Romance Group's Love Has No Boundaries Anthology: Volume 10. Thank you too all the amazing authors who participated!
3.5 stars I was so torn between rounding up or rounding down. I liked this a lot, the secondary characters were very well developed and a lot happened. There was a bit of humor as you can see in my updates. But there were about three too many miscommunications/missed years. This went on a long time, over a decade with large gaps in between. Which is OK. But obviously we all knew since Mexico that Stu's attitude was transparent. The drama and tension was good, it just went on for so long and didn't get resolved until the end, that we didn't really get to enjoy that aspect much before it was over. Aaaaand since we had Josh's POV, obviously he seemed the more wronged. Stu was just such a prick, that it made it hard to picture a good relationship with him, despite him having had his reasons. So I would have liked to see some of that instead of just an Epilogue telling us that they're still good a few months later.
October 17, 2013
I like the title. That's... perhaps pretty much it. There are really some funny or amusing bits, but it's all so juvenile. The story contains too many clichés, none of the characters feel like actual people (enough with the supportiveness, already!) and they are mean towards alcohol. I can't support anything that mistreats alcohol.
June 1, 2014
I love a good enemies to lovers story, and this one really delivered. I loved the UST and slow burn. I'm usually not a fan of stories that span years and years, but in this case it really worked. They were so in love with each other but didn't even realize it. Rather, they just poured all of their misdirected emotion into a feud fueled by their own misperceptions of each other. Great fun.
June 30, 2013
A fun enemies-to-lovers contemporary. I loved the characters, particularly the big, awkward Josh. The families and the pace of the interactions over the years (mostly hostile) was very well done. A smooth, easy read with a nice pay off. Thank you!
April 18, 2015
I really enjoyed this friends to lovers story. I couldn't see an HEA or HFN happening, since Stu was a douche through pretty much the whole story. Nice interpretation of the photo and the story letter. Thank you B. Snow for donating your story, your time and your talent.
July 6, 2013
I really enjoyed this free LHNB story. The author did a great job building the tension between the two main characters. My only little niggle was that I wish we could have seen more of them together after so long fighting each other.
Still, I look forward to more by this author.
Still, I look forward to more by this author.
June 30, 2013
Excellent enemies to lovers story! Thanks to the author for donating this wonderful story!
July 2, 2013
3.5 stars
July 7, 2013
Loved it!! Well thought out plot line with lots of backstory. So glad they got together finally!!!
April 7, 2015
The title is very apt. Hard to care about the characters but a good story still.
October 2, 2017
The Idiots' Tango is an enemies-to-lovers story that spans through time from when the guys were in their teens to their thirties. Josh is an awkward and slightly too big and chubby a boy who ends up kissing their family friends' boy Stu. This incident evolves into a war in between them and they are like oil and water, always fighting until in the end they understand how that fighting might have been something more already from the beginning. I do like stories like this that make their characters grow and find common ground. The text is quite fluent, but there's not enough pages to move all the years seamlessly and mostly the book is about them fighting and the loving takes only a small piece of the whole cake. This is a bummer, since the analyzing was the best part and I would've wanted for them to work things out better and see more of their future too.
Josh was annoying and stupid, which kind of fitted him, but at the same time he was slightly over the top. I wish he had thought things through better. It was kind of hard seeing his persona, since he felt out of reach. Stu was better as a character, since he had a persona, but his anger issues were surely too much. I liked that their families had a role too and the development with their families uniting was great. Sadly do Snow didn't play the most delicious card meaning we didn't get to see how thing developed after the sex on the stairs episode. The Idiots' Tango was entertaining and great, but would've needed more loving and less anger and fighting. Also, I would've loved to read about some hot man sex too, since these guys would surely have an awesome lusty anger twist to it.
Josh was annoying and stupid, which kind of fitted him, but at the same time he was slightly over the top. I wish he had thought things through better. It was kind of hard seeing his persona, since he felt out of reach. Stu was better as a character, since he had a persona, but his anger issues were surely too much. I liked that their families had a role too and the development with their families uniting was great. Sadly do Snow didn't play the most delicious card meaning we didn't get to see how thing developed after the sex on the stairs episode. The Idiots' Tango was entertaining and great, but would've needed more loving and less anger and fighting. Also, I would've loved to read about some hot man sex too, since these guys would surely have an awesome lusty anger twist to it.
October 1, 2018
So this is supposed to be a romance; enemies-to-lovers. But how do you have a romance when the two main characters only interact less than a handful of times in a dozen years? They don’t even touch romantically until the epilogue (the sex in the last chapter doesn’t count as romantic). Both characters are written as walking stereotypes. Josh, from whose POV the story is told, is your stereotypical dumb aggressive jock who’s just looking for a quick lay. Stu is even worse. There is almost no character development with Stu. Other than his being presented as typcial tight-ass, sexually repressed nerd, we hardly know anything about him. Sorry, but this whole story just falls flat.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews