Reviewed by Nikyta

TITLE: Bad Idea
SERIES: Itch, #1
AUTHOR: Damon Suede
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 350 pages, 137k+ words
BLURB: Bad Idea: Some mistakes are worth making.

Reclusive comic book artist Trip Spector spends his life doodling supersquare, 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?

REVIEW:

Trip Spector is a talented comic book artist who hates the comics he draws but can’t seem to change his life because of his sexy and sleazy (but straight) boss. When he meets Silas everything changes and his world turns upside down. Now, it’s full of possibilities and new inspiration. When the two get together, it’s more than just a one time thing, it’s the start of something real, intense, and beautiful but with every good thing, there’s always that fear and, more than anything, Trip is scared his new-found happiness will crumble. The chemistry between Silas and Trip is fierce but will Trip let his fear ruin that?

When we first meet Trip, he’s this big ball of allergies, dreading having to participate in a Zombie Run (where he ends up meeting the super hot Silas). He’s cute and slightly nerdy and I really liked him because of that. He’s confused and mislead by his Unboyfriend (i.e. his cock-tease of a boss). I loved him  but I also wanted to shake some sense into him! He’s sooo stubborn! But, at the same time, he’s insecure and wonders how someone like Silas could like him. I felt bad for him because he’s so wound up and doesn’t know how to handle things. Silas, on the other hand, was my favorite character. He’s out and proud, charming, sweet but a closeted geek. He grew up chubby so he always feels like he’s unattractive even though he’s doesn’t have any issues getting a guy. It’s heartbreaking the low self-esteem he has but I found myself smiling ridiculously whenever he’d do something ‘gentlemanly’ that Trip always ended up ruining somehow. It was funny but also kinda cute. Silas was sexy as hell but the two of them together?! Jesus, I don’t like reading much sex but even *I* found these two smoking hot! The two have a great connection and fit each other perfectly, IMO, and I couldn’t get enough of them.

The story revolves around Trip and Silas chartering new waters. Neither of them have much experience in relationships. Silas has a ton of exes while Trip has just been pining after his ‘straight’ boss for the last four years. They start off pretty intense because of the chemistry between them is intense BUT that isn’t the only thing. The story tells how Scratch, an erotic graphic novel that Trip creates based off Silas, comes to be, how much pleasure Trip gets from creating something that’s HIS but also the trouble it causes him to do that. Silas, through everything, is his rock and I really, really loved seeing the conflict Trip always had and how Silas could calm him down. When things start to get rocky, my heart almost broke for these guys.

While I loved this story, there was one big issue I had with it. Mainly, I felt like the writing was choppy and confusing sometimes to the point where I had to go back and reread certain passages to clarify how or why the characters got on different subjects. Mostly, this happened between the shift into the philosophical discussions (that I actually quite enjoyed) but I can’t deny the transition between what was originally talked about and that pulled me out of the story multiple times.

One of the many great things about this book, though, were the secondary characters, specifically, Max, Jillian, Kurt and Ziggy. Jillian and her son, Max, were just great additions to the story. Always filled with something funny or smart to say, I loved Trip’s interactions with them. More than anything, though, I found Ziggy to be a fascinating character and how Kurt is drawn to him was even better. I really hope that we’ll be able to see Ziggy and Kurt get their own story one day because it really would be something amazing to see.

In the end, I adored this story. I found the telling of how Scratch was created fascinating and really cool to experience but I also loved the characters. The journey Silas and Trip go down while they figure out how to have a relationship was sweet, hot and put a smile on my face. I can’t wait to read more in this series and since I haven’t read Horn Gate yet, it makes me want to start it ASAP.

Nikyta rates it –

BUY LINKS: Dreamspinner Press :: All Romance eBooks

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Nikyta is one of the official reviewers on The Blog of Sid Love.

To read all her reviews, click the link: NIKYTA’S REVIEWS
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