Review: Bad Idea by Damon Suede

Some mistakes are worth making.

Reclusive comic book artist Trip Spector spends his life doodling super-square, straitlaced superheroes, hiding from his fans, and crushing on his unattainable boss until he meets the dork of his dreams. Silas Goolsby is a rowdy FX makeup creator with a loveless love life and a secret streak of geek who yearns for unlikely rescues and a truly creative partnership.

Against their better judgment, they fall victim to chemistry, and what starts as infatuation quickly grows tender and terrifying. With Silas’s help, Trip gambles his heart and his art on a rotten plan: sketching out Scratch, a “very graphic novel” that will either make his name or wreck his career. But even a smash can't save their world if Trip retreats into his mild-mannered rut, leaving Silas to grapple with betrayal and emotions he can't escape.

What will it take for this dynamic duo to discover that heroes never play it safe?






I went into this story with some idea of what to expect and boy did it deliver!

This story was in turns silly, sweet, heartfelt and laugh out loud hilarious. It was dork-tastic! Geek-alicious!  Nerd-tabulous!

“Powers of Sodomy, activate.”

Trip is a mild mannered comic book artist and writer. A Peter Parker if you will; and he found his He-Man in Silas. Silas, the sweetest, most adorable meathead I have ever read about. I am naming Silas my newest book-boyfriend.

Damon Suede is a man of many words. He writes in excruciating detail but never falls into the trap of purple prose. His words are those of the every day man or woman. The average Joe (or Jane). His characters are relatable and inviting. I never feel as though I need a dictionary to understand what he is trying to say. It’s as though he gets me. He speaks to me through his storytelling in words and phrases that I might use in my day to day life.

He conducted a symphony of words that sucked me right into the story. I felt as though I was right there in the living room with Trip and Rina when they first got the idea for the character of Scratch. I was included in that brainstorming session. I felt the love that Trip had for Silas, really and truly felt it as though I were the one who fell in love and maybe I did.. I was right there, inside his head as he came to the realization that this man was his life. They say that love is blind but Trip never saw anything as clearly as he did when saw Silas. And Silas’ imperfections only enhanced his beauty.

This was a wonderfully touching story about two real men who had real issues and real feelings. And the sex was scorching hot! I felt like a voyeur when reading the scenes. I was already sitting in the corner with my opera glasses. All I needed was a bucket of popcorn and a large drink and it would have been perfect. I saw in someone else’s review that they thought this should be made into a movie and I agree. This is perfect book-to-film material.

So why only four hearts? Well, that’s easy. I didn’t really care for the MC Trip. I felt he was selfish and immature and scared of his own shadow. He treated Silas so poorly that while I hoped for an HEA I would have been just as fine with Silas telling Trip to fuck off and leaving him for good. Some things cannot be unsaid and there are some things that I don’t think should be forgiven.

This book is certainly not going to be for everyone. There are a lot of comic book references. Hell, what am I saying? The entire story is one big comic book reference, even down to the written sound effects. But I grew up on graphic novels and comics so I was perfectly OK with all of that and found it kinda cute and endearing. And the POV switch gets confusing sometimes. But all in all I was completely invested in this story and I would say to give it a chance because there really is a beautiful story behind that intriguing cover.

ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review