Hi everyone–
As you know, I’m celebrating the launch of my new contemporary LGBT romance, Beach Balls, which got me thinking about enemies-to-lovers stories which this book is.
Of course, the first enemies story to come to mind from classical literature is Romeo and Juliet and the famous contemporary play which grew out of it, West Side Story. The best enemies to lovers novels or plays have a deep division between the lovers that in innate. There is something about them that makes them natural adversaries. In Romeo and Juliet it is the warring houses of Montague and Capulet who have been at odds for generations. In a book like Last of the Mohicans, the barely hinted at attraction between Cora and Uncas would have been so proscribed because of their races and cultures that Cooper was being wildly brave to even suggest it.
Enemies-to-lovers stories are notable because of their unhappy endings. Dare to cross the forbidden lines and everybody dies. That makes for a tough romance! But it is fun trying to bring the enemies together. That was my challenge in Beach Balls. My two heroes are a developer lawyer very intent on winning a development deal and the environmentalist who opposes him. Born in the blood enemies. As in most enemies-to-lovers stories, when my two guys meet they have no idea that they are natural opponents. This allows them a little space to fall in love unencumbered by their opposition. But unlike Romeo and Juliet who are torn apart by the hatred of their parents, my heroes have to find a way around their own innate animosity — or not.
I won’t tell you how or if my guys succeed. Watching them battle it out is the fun of it. Do you have a favorite enemies-to-lovers story?
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