For Love Of: Tangi, Antonio
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Publisher: Smashwords
Genre: Gay YA/NA
Tags: Contemporary, Young Adult/New Adult, High School, Humor
Length: 72,620 Words
Reviewer: Cindi
Purchase At: Smashwords
Blurb:
Colt Asbury’s life was good. He was captain of the football team in high school, popular with his classmates, and adored by his family. The only thing missing was someone special to share it with. But, between football and schoolwork he didn’t really have much time to think about romance—no that wasn’t exactly the whole truth. He had thought about it, and decided he wasn’t ready to deal with the ramifications of being gay. But, sometimes things can bubble to the surface in unexpected ways. In just a few minutes Colt’s whole world changes when he accidentally outs himself in front of his homeroom class over a new male student named Tangiers (Tangi) Reynolds. Suddenly he’s the talk of the school, yet all he can think about is Tangi. He’d never felt anything like what he felt when he’d first laid eyes on auburn-haired, green-eyed Tangi.
Still, it’s all too much for someone whose held so much in for so long and it takes its toll on Colt physically and emotionally. Confused and feeling broken down, he tries to find someone he can turn to, but discovers his best friend Mickey has turned against him. The rest of Colt’s friends aren’t even sure what to think about him anymore. His ex-football hero dad, whom he idolizes, and his ex-cheerleader mom are acting strangely too, and it turns out they’ve been hiding a closely guarded secret of their own. A secret shared by some of the parents of Colt’s friends. It will take the help of his younger brother Neil and Tangi’s sister Zen as well as allies in unexpected places to aid Colt in his time of greatest need. And then, there’s still the homecoming dance to think about, a homophobic chaperone to deal with, and a mystery man named Cameron. Will Colt be able to navigate these once calm now troubled waters of his life? More importantly will he be able to embrace a life with Tangi? All he knows is that he’ll give it his best shot for love of Tangi.
My Review:
Colt, a popular high school football player, notices a new student in class. Without seeing the person’s face, he makes the mistake of calling them beautiful out loud in front of the rest of the class. This was a major Oops! moment for Colt because the person he just called beautiful wasn’t a girl as he had originally thought. This causes problems because suddenly everyone is making fun of Colt and calling him homophobic names. The problems carry over to the new kid, whose name is Tangiers Reynolds, but goes by Tangi. The other jocks, as a result of Colt’s mistake, make Tangi an outcast, though nothing was his fault at all. Feeling bad, Colt makes a point in sitting with Tangi during lunch instead of his jock buddies and the cheerleaders. What Colt ultimately discovers is that Tangi is someone he can seriously fall for, male or no. Of course this freaks Colt out. How can he be gay?
At first I thought this was a gay-for-you type thing with Colt but that turned out to not be the case at all. Colt had never dated anyone – male or female – and until Tangi came into his life, he had just been unsure of what exactly he wanted. Colt and Tangi develop a very quick friendship that carries over to their parents and siblings. It becomes obvious rather quickly to everyone that there is more between Tangi and Colt than mere friendship, but until Colt comes to terms with it on his own, no one will say anything. Of course, this leads to misunderstandings.
Colt’s friends aren’t too keen on the gay thing and make that known. His best friend Mickey was an issue early on but came around later when it counted.
There are other characters in this story who are important. From Colt’s “perfect” parents (one a former football star and the other a former head cheerleader) to Colt’s brother. Then there are Tangi’s parents and his sister, Zen. Zen was adorable, as was Neil, Colt’s brother. Neil quickly develops a thing for Zen and before long, it’s reciprocated.
Parts of this book had me giggling out loud. Once Tangi and Colt become an official couple, there is a major misunderstanding in regards to Colt’s parents. This leads to a very funny ‘escape’ for Colt that doesn’t quite go as planned. I’ll admit that it took a bit into this for me to realize that some of the things being done were meant to be humorous. I was sitting here thinking “Oh my God, did they really just do that to their parents?” but then I was cracking up because it seriously was funny and obviously not meant to be taken seriously.
The secondary characters in this book are a blast. The story of Tangi and Colt (and even Neil and Zen) are as well. Tangi and Colt are really good together and I love how the author didn’t shy away from Colt’s fears when he realized that he had fallen for a boy. There is nothing bad to say about Tangi at all. I loved him from his introduction and this continued until I got to the end.
A very entertaining read.
This book was provided by the author in exchange for a fair and honest review.
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What a fun and interesting sounding book, Cindi. Maybe a little different too. Love the review.
😀
Oh, and I really like that cover. It is quite striking.
Thanks! I love the cover too. The book was hilarious in some places. I kept thinking about my own sons and their exploits when they were that age. Of course, I am glad they didn’t go to the same extreme as these kids did. *grin*