GoodReads Presents http://www.mmromancegroup.com/?p=277843
Blurb
Dear Author,
We’ve been friends forever. Best friends in school. Roommates and best friends in college. Partners and best friends in business. He was the first person I told when I realized I was gay. He just said, “Me, too.” Yet somehow, in all those years, through all the ups and downs, we never even thought of being lovers. We were always best friends.
Then one day, something changed. What happened? How did we end up here?
Photo Description:
Two unclothed men stand side-by-side at the railing to a ship, their backs to us, facing the ocean. The man on the left has his arm around the waist of the other and their heads are tipped together affectionately. Both men are similar looking: wide shoulders, shaved heads, shapely butts, and golden skin. The one major difference is their tattoos. The man on the left has two tribal bands across his right bicep and shoulder. The other man has a swirling tribal design that covers most of his back, with smaller designs on his lower back and upper right thigh.
This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group’s “Love is an Open Road” 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.
Review
This is a best friends to lovers story. Travis and Ben have been friends and business partners forever. They are both gay but – due to * reasons * – they’ve never even kissed.
When a wacky friend does a strange “intimate speed dating” event, the two participate and it launches them from friends to lovers.
**
I never quite bought into this story. If you look at the picture – two burly dudes all tatted up – it never really jives with the personal caterers that we have in this story. I also never bought that for 16 years the two never got a smidgen of attraction and then suddenly – POW – instant forever love.
Sure, it’s a short story, but it can be done and in this case it isn’t done very effectively.
I liked the idea and the writing was fine, but I didn’t think the picture matched the story at all and I didn’t buy the intimate speed dating thing at all.
3 of 5 hearts
