Hot Head

Geez this was an amazing story and so well written. I usually steer clear of anything with cops detectives or firemen but this has changed my mind. It was an awesome premise and the sex scenes were so hot it was ridiculous!

So, this novel was so much better than I anticipated. I had just popped onto my library app to check my digital holds and this was in the recommended reading. The recommended readings are totally random like cookbooks one day and true crime another and I certainly didn’t expect my library to even have a sexy m/m romance let alone recommend it. But I want to encourage my local library system to get more stuff like this so I downloaded it.And I read it in one day.This was just way more than I was expecting. There’s not as much sex as I expected and way more plot. Griff is such a lovable sweet potato full of angst and love. There is the typical miscommunications and whacky plot devices (we have to make porn to save the house!) that you expect from a romance and then wham, 9/11 flashbacks. I should have expected that given that their NY firefighters but I honestly wasn’t counting on that much reality.

Hot Head is a raw, honest and rough emotional roller-coaster! Suede definitely knows how to bring his characters to life, and share their struggles with those reading about them!Griff and Dante have been friends for ages, and Dante’s noisy, Italian family has been a home away from home for Griff since his teen years. After the twin towers were brought down, and Griff was looking for Dante everywhere in the ashes of the fallen buildings, his whole life seems different somehow. Being firefighters is how both Griff and Dante identify themselves on a very deep level, helping those in need, even putting their own lives in jeopardy is just what they do. And they are not exactly shy about the female attention it brings them either. Griff, however has been keeping a secret, and at the beginning of Hot Head, Dante wants to talk to him about something important. But the next morning, after too many tequilas Griff has no idea if they even had a talk at all. And it is clear to the reader that Griff’s feelings towards Dante are much more than friendship.As Griff tries to figure out how to deal with being a gay firefighter, but still keep his best friend, he ventures out of Brooklyn in search of a bar where he might find like minded men. Hot Head then changes pace and becomes more intense, first because Griff sees someone he knows outside the bar, and also because Dante is acting more and more erratically. There is a lot going on in this story, some of it has to do with bigotry and what is expected of a manly firefighter, but it also has a lot to do with friendship, family, loyalty and how far some people are willing to go to make sure the person they care the most about in the world is happy.Hot Head is not a sweet story, it is rather gritty, showing gay-bashing where one character is almost beaten to death. There is also a gay porn web-site where Dante finds himself showing off his fine self to make sure he can pay the bank for the next mortgage installment and won’t have to leave and move back with his parents. Through this dark universe, however, both Dante and Griff are characters that truly shine. Griff is so afraid of showing Dante his true feelings, not ever realizing that Dante just might feel the same way about him. And because the whole story unfolds from Griff’s perspective, there are many insights to Dante that were kept hidden from me because they were hidden from Griff. I definitely did figure out that Griff should just sit down and be honest with Dante, though, but the tension and the way these two wanted to protect both each other and themselves added a layer of beauty and light to this sombre tale.The tight family connections with Dante’s parents and siblings made life bearable for Griff, and I think this is partly why he was so afraid of coming out of his tiny closet. Add to that all the times they heard depreciating comments about gay people from some of the guys they worked with, and it’s easy to understand why both of these seemingly strong characters decided to keep some things very close to the vest. While Hot Head did include a lot of darkness, there was also quite a bit of humor, the dialogues between Dante and Griff were very funny at times. And of course, there was plenty of hotness to go around as well.Written in third person perspective, past tense, and from Griff’s perspective, Hot Head was the kind of story that gripped my heart tight and kept it squeezed for most of the time I was reading. I will definitely read more of Suede’s books in the future.

Hundreds of reviews have been written raving about this novel. In some ways adding another to the pile may seem like a waste of space. I mean, what could I say that hundreds of other people haven't already said and likely said it better than I ever could? That would be a good question, but if I didn't write this review, I wouldn't be able to rave and gush and dance about how absolutely amazing, completely unforgettable this book is.There are so many great things to say about this novel, that I've decided to list them, complete with numbers.In no particular order, here are 13 reasons to read this book:1. Griff is the perfect romantic hero. He's kind of quiet, self-effacing, with heroic tendencies who doesn't recognize his own appeal. He's generous and kind, but with enough temper and steel to keep him from coming off as week or boring.2. "They'd all looked into the abyss and it kept right on looking back, window-shopping for damnation, it seemed."3. Dante is also the perfect romantic hero. He's charismatic, outgoing, a little over-the-top. He comes across a little shallow on the outside, but under the facade, he's vulnerable and desperate. He's gorgeous and knows it, but has enough pain and insecurities to keep him from being gratingly arrogant.4. The relationship is built spectacularly. From the back-story of how they met, the life-altering trauma of being working firemen during the chaos of the Twin Towers attacks, the fraternal friendship and eventually the romantic love that will change their life--it all adds up to a masterful love story.5. Firemen are sexy. Two firemen are even sexier. 'Nuff said.6.The writing is superb--creative, raw, unapologetic, heart-wrenching and at times poetic.7. The pacing is perfect. Every step, every stage, builds on the one before it, until the reader is desperate to get to the next scene, the next chapter.8. Suede builds a fabulous metaphor between the events of 9-11 and the growth of the characters. I'll add here that it is done in such a way that it does not detract from the seriousness and horrifying events of that day, but instead builds on the resilience and transformation of a neighborhood, community and country.9. "Because people should not be punished for loving and hoping and holding their hearts open."10. The setting is authentic. From the ethnic neighborhoods of the regular blue-collar man, to the trendy neighborhoods of Manhattan, it is New York in all it's beauty and flaws.11. "I can't imagine doing it for your whole goddamn life. 'S'like being burned alive, lying to people you love. No wonder people become drunks and hide and hit each other. Truth. Easier to be dead inside."12. The sex is hot! This book is by no means an erotic romance, where the story is the sex. This is a pure romance and the love scenes are about love. Whether it's the love of a friend will to do intimate things in front of a camera to help out or as two people celebrating their romantic attraction, the love scenes were so drenched in emotion and passion that it makes me yearn.13. Secondary characters add depth and texture to an already layered plot. The Anastagio family is a riot--dramatic, exaggerated, Italian. Tommy is heart-breaking (and rumor has it Tommy will be back in a book of his very own). Alek keeps you guessing, but ultimately gives Griff the catalyst to fight for what he wants.If you like your romances heart-felt and smokin' hot, you've gotta check this one out.

I enjoyed this book, though it was a bit of a slow start, but do persevere it's worth it. Two childhood friends, Griffin an only child whose father is an investigator for the department ,and a cold man, and then you have Dante who comes from a large Italian family full of love and warmth, who have taken Griff into their embrace too. After Griffs marriage ends, he's at a bit of a loss and Dante is there for him, but Griffs feelings for Dante change from brotherly love to being in love with him. Griff loves him with a passion, but Dante is basically a manwhore, chasing anything in a skirt, so Griff keeps his feelings hidden. Dante owns and adores a wreck of a house he's trying to fix, and when he runs into trouble financially he decides to work for a porn video company for extra cash, and worms around Griff who wants to help him to do the same. This a deep story of how much you will endure because you love someone. Dante is sweet, but Griff is a complete darling, who has a heart as. If as an ocean. Please read this book it is so good

I LOVED this. Such great characters that jump right off the page and stay with you for a long time. There were some things about it that kind of bugged me a bit - like the way that, despite being from Griff's pov, the author sort of goes all omniscient on us at times and describes Griff looking at people with his gray eyes or talking about his 'canon' etc. Also some of the way the guys talk to one another is at times really base - and not in a hot, 'good' way either.But....despite these things... I just loved it, I coudn't help myself, I read it and then read it again. I adored Griff so damned much, and Dante. And lets be honest - the sex is so hot. I mean really hot. This is one of the sexiest books I've read in a long time. Yes, sometimes the characters say things that make me think 'do people really talk like that?' but I've been reading Cameron Dane for long enough to put that to one side if I like a book.The other thing I loved about this book was the warmth it held, I just want to hang out with Griff and Dante all the time, they're brilliant. I can't wait for the sequel to this. It's different and refreshing and kind of raw, in the best way, and it grabbed me by the balls - so to speak - and didn't let go

MY REVIEWI was so excited to read Hot Head, and ive got to admit the blurb is quite intriguing.I mean hot sexy firemen who are best friends volunteering for a gay porn site?How could i say no i just couldn't resist.I am a big fan of M/M romance books and have read quite a few, some bad some good, some fantastic. Im going to put Hot Head in the good pushing towards Great.The sex scenes were off the charts hot in this book really well written.Dante and Griff are wonderful characters and i really liked the fact that Griff had been a part of Dante's crazy Italian family for years and that nothing changed when the men revealed there relationship. All the family were very supportive towards the couple.I adored the photo shoot scenes with the feisty lesbian pixi photographer!Overall a good read, recommended to anyone who loves a M/M read.

This is the story of 2 firefighters, Griffin and Dante, who have been friends since childhood. They develop romantic and sexual feelings for each other but don't realise how the other truely feels. The book is written in the third person but is told from Griffen's perspective.Dante is strapped for cash and needs money to pay his mortgage and refurbish his home. He has an opportunity to make money on a pornagraphic website and he earns more money if he can pose with someone else and carry out "extended" scenes. Griffen agrees to help him and finds it more and more difficult to be around Dante after they have performed on video.In some ways this is completely cliched - 2 macho, masculine firefighters who are used to whoring and touring together, men in uniform on porn sites, friendship turning into more even though they've never thought of other men in this way and cheesy language - "fat cannon", "curved spike"!However saying that, I loved it and none of these detracted from my pleasure in the story. In all honesty, it probably enhanced it! Highly recommended.

I really enjoyed this one. And I don't often give five stars.I loved the characters: Griff was great in terms of how he was figuring himself out and I liked the slow progress of that. There was no 'instant' insight, the story did a really nice job of developing that. With Dante I thought I knew where he was coming from (yeah, he was) but I liked that you don't know for sure. He is much more an enigma and the reveal of what he wants is very well written.I also really loved how warm Dante's family is - it is a nice contrast to so many books that feature homophobic parents and families. The story includes a realistic amount of the real world and homophobic reactions. I thought it was well done in terms of plot development at one point (about the internet content that Griff reconsidered).I particularly liked that the plot could have been so cheesy and corny but it was anything but. I can easily identify with the horror of losing your house, home and the place that you invested everything into that you have. It would definitely make me think of drastic measures which is why the plot didn't read as cheesy as it could have.The writing is great. It is lively and engaging. I just couldn't put the book down. I think I will re-read this at some point too.The only quibble I have that isn't one, not really: I feel that the title doesn't do anything for the book and story. Yes, it's got something to do with firefighting and obviously the plot, but it's not very appealing without knowing the context. A different title would serve this book better.This is the first book I read by Damon Suede, I've already gone and looked for more and bought another one. Heh.I really enjoyed this story.