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Bad Idea  By  cover art

Bad Idea

By: Damon Suede
Narrated by: Charlie David
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Publisher's summary

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?

©2013 Damon Suede (P)2014 Dreamspinner Press
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: LGBTQ+

What listeners say about Bad Idea

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    71
  • 4 Stars
    46
  • 3 Stars
    26
  • 2 Stars
    11
  • 1 Stars
    2
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    84
  • 4 Stars
    33
  • 3 Stars
    22
  • 2 Stars
    6
  • 1 Stars
    3
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    74
  • 4 Stars
    32
  • 3 Stars
    33
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    6

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Great for a comic book lover but too long for me

Let me start out by saying Damon Suede is an absolutely awesome writer. Anyone who can weave into a story that “unicorns are just weaponized ponies” has some kind of paranormal muse whispering in his ear. This book is beautifully written, especially if you are a comic book fan or movie geek. He gives shout outs to, Marvel, DC, and other obscure comic book publishers, as well as, Bruce Campbell, The Tick and other obscure pop cult icons. There is some amazingly detailed background on all things comic, movie and TV geek. On the romance side, the MC get together fairly early in the book, so very little angst and a lot of very hot smex. The story is mainly about their rollercoaster ride of a relationship. Charlie David does a fantastic job as usually in bringing the characters to life and drawing the reader into these characters.

That said, I’m afraid I am NOT that into comics or the movie and TV industry and was kind of bored with it at about hour 8 of the 14 hour narration. Although that stuff is interesting, 14 hours of it gets REALLY old. There is really nothing happening in the story except interesting industry knowledge and the two MCs living their geek dream and trying to communicate with one another. Which is sweet, but again 14 HOURS!! I'm afraid I like a little more drama in my romance books. I would say if you want a really intriguing, well written listen about the comic and movie industries (there is even some gaming stuff) and a just OK romance, it is worth a credit.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

I have a few beefs with this story...

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Ok, Number ONE Stop Trying To Make Random things Euphemisms FOR A PENIS!!! It is Not an... pulsing rod or a pork sword or a cream cannon or whatever other ridiculous thing Damon Suede could think of to describe cocks. It was distracting and cringe worthy! It removed me from the story and therefor made the listening disjointed!
Number TWO, Charlie David, For the sake of us all, STOP WHISPERING! You can speak quietly without Whispering and you needn't do it ALL THE FRICKING TIME!!

I haven't even finished listening to it yet, I just need to get it off my chest!

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

I haven't gotten that far yet

What didn’t you like about Charlie David’s performance?

As stated above, the whispering annoyed the absolute bejeezus out of me

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

frustration mainly!

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic

Brilliantly written. beautiful and sexy. my only complaint is a minor one with Charlie David. He does superbly well but every once in a while mispronounced a word and it can be a bit jarring. But overall a great book. I look forward to many more books by Damon Suede.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

I've had better.

What would have made Bad Idea better?

I think this author is pretty talented, but his overuse of euphemisms for male genitalia is very off-putting, at least to this female reader. I also felt this book was pretty dull. There wasn't nearly enough action or angst for my liking. I bought this because I enjoyed the writing (minus the euphemisms) in Hot Head, but this wasn't nearly as good.

How could the performance have been better?

I seriously don't understand why everyone has such a hard on for Charlie David. He's the most irritating narrator in this genre, in my opinion. Every time he says "shone," but pronounces it "shawn," I want to slit my wrists. Also, his "southern" accent is like nails on a chalkboard for me (i.e. someone who knows what an Alabama accent actually sounds like). I've returned most of the books I've purchased that were narrated by him, but I decided to keep this one so I could leave a review. Feel free to say it wasn't helpful just because I don't fall down at his feet to worship at the Charlie David alter.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Great Story Marred

Would you listen to Bad Idea again? Why?

Yes. Story has the making of an actual novel

Who was your favorite character and why?

Protagonist is creative yet flawed.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The man cannot pronounce basic English, e.g., bodice, pollen, unrequited. Pleasant voice, but grotesque pronunciations every 20 minutes.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Enjoyable, but frustrating.

Charlie David has an amazing voice and performs the characters fantastically, but ... and this is a huge but for me, he didn't spend enough time preparing for this. There were too many words that were mispronounced, easy words that shouldn't have caused anyone confusion unless possibly English wasn't their first language. Pollen is NOT Poe - len and that is just one example of many, even if he didn't know how to pronounce it he should have been able to tell what the word was from the text.

Part of the narrators job is to make sure they know what is being said before it is recorded. He completely failed in this aspect and it's so frustrating because if he hadn't this would easily have been a five-star performance.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Yuck!

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

No, because sophomoric prose and tired cliches like this is why the world doesn't take gay literature seriously.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The creative process behind the comic book idea the characters are working on even though the romance between them is trite and boring. Go write that comic instead!

How could the performance have been better?

The narrator could pronounce words correctly...just, you know, for a start....

Could you see Bad Idea being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

No names

Any additional comments?

I'm getting a refund...

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Entertaining listen.. except

I read the book and loved it so decided to listen since it had been a while. I loved the story and my favorite characters is Silas. He is so sweet and lovable.
The narration was... odd. He did a very good job for the most part but he repeatedly mispronounced words. Not just the difficult words but simple ones too. It was just weird from a professional narrator. It would not stop me from listening again.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

underwhelming

basic story, nothing really exciting about it. I was not a fan of sounds given to auxiliary actions of objects. did we really need the sound of the door closing to be written or the sound of paper falling.

I fast forwarded the book so I can be done. Charley David has a good voice but he could not save this book.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

What a fantastic, realistic boook.

Where does Bad Idea rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

The book was one of the best books I've gotten in a while in the m/m romance genre the story was real, the emotions were true, even if the body parts were exaggerated.

What other book might you compare Bad Idea to and why?

Zero at the Bone and Few Josh Lanyon books come to mind with the trueness of the emotion

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

The narration at times is like speed bumps on a smooth highway. Charlie David is normally more than competent but there are dozens of glaring mispronunciations. Someone needs to introduce him to an audio dictionary so he can hear the words pronounced properly.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The conclusion, which I will not spoil for anyone. But you'll be satisfied. For once neither half of the couple has to die or get a terminal illness to finish the book.

Any additional comments?

Buy the book. Get the Kindle copy and read along, it helps cover the word bloopers.

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1 person found this helpful