After finishing Hot Head, I immediately changed my reading plans and embarked on a Damon-Suede-athon. Tackled his book Bad Idea next. While I still think Hot Head is my favorite thus far, I liked how different his characters and story were in this book. The characters' flaws were well-written and I liked the longer arc for their relationship and HEA. Like he did with the NY firefighting world, Suede's Chicago Nerdom felt fully embodied.

Loved this so much. I can definitely see why it's on several romance lists and I'm thrilled I finally read it! It's sweet, the characters ate well-developed, it's fucking HOT (and there's hot fucking), it's emotional, and it feels believable, despite its high stakes and genre elements.

I can't believe this is the first time I'm reading Damon Suede considering I've read and loved A LOT of gay m/m romances! I'm excited to finally be reading his work considering his popularity and importance to the genre. I really loved his conversation with Faith Salie on Audible's Authorized series, too, which motivated me to go grab one of his books asap.

Re-listening to all my Kristen Ashley books. On the third in the Rock Chick series. I like her Indiana series and her Colorado Mountain series the best, but I've finished those. I have so much time to listen, and I love how long her audiobooks are; I just sink into her world and listen for hours as I go about my day.

I loved this restaurant critic's memoir. About so much more than food and expensive dining, Ruth Reichl does a great job of storytelling, using dining vignettes to reflect on her past, present, and future. (The food descriptions are nice, too!) Reichl's approach to cuisine feels very accessible, as well, and I appreciated her honesty, self-criticism, and humor.

Titular inspiration.