Fired UP! or It’s getting hot in here…

I adore the fact that Damon Suede’s Hot Head is featured on goodread.com’s list of Top 100 romances, even though it’s a m/m romance. It’s sweet, sentimental, raunchy, probably truer to life in some ways than I’d wish, and you’ll definitely want a fire extinguisher handy while reading because it’s hot-Hot-HOT.

Griff and Dante are life-long friends (in fact Griff has been adopted by Dante’s family in all the ways that matter) and firefighters for the same firehouse in Brooklyn. Griff is a giant of a man whose still waters run deep. He works multiple jobs and spends his free time with Dante’s family. All he wants is to make sure they’re taken care of and safe. Dante seems to be a party boy who has a different girl every night, but is obsessed with fixing up a house he’s purchased. Griff’s marriage has fallen apart in 9/11’s wake, and he’s come to the realization that Dante is the true love of his life. Dante is desperate – he’s fallen in to gambling debts in Atlantic City in effort to raise quick capital for his building projects, but he’s got a solution – if Griff is willing to help.

At this point, Griff is deeply, deeply closeted, and we’re not sure that Dante even cares for Griff in the same way (except that this is a romance novel so of course we know). Neither of them has even mentioned to the other that he cares for the other as more than a best friend/brother. Dante’s solution to his financial troubles is a shocker to Griff and not only brings emotions to the surface, it has the potential of placing them both in trouble with the FDNY. He agrees, but only in hopes of keeping Dante out of trouble.

I don’t want to say anymore about the plot, just take my word for it – READ THIS ONE. Even if you’ve read other books I liked, but you didn’t care for them, read this one. Even the supporting characters and sub-plots are fleshed out. It’s probably in my top 25 romances, definitely top 50, and considering the sheer number of romances I’ve read during my 28-year habit, that’s saying something. (Note: I gave it five stars, but that’s only because I couldn’t give it 4.5. It’s not perfect, but it’s close.)