Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Bury Your Gays: An Anthology of Tragic Queer Horror by Sofia Ajram

2 reviews

booktribe's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

3.0

“I thought I was my best with her but she saw how wretched I was and she loved me for it—“ - Black Hole by November Rush

““I think I’m not well,” he whispers. “Hey, it’s okay. I’ll take care of you.” How that phrase, take care of, implies both nurturing and disposal.” - American Gothic by LC von Hessen

Overall I enjoyed this collection! There were definitely some hits and misses, but there were several stories that I really enjoyed! My faves were: Your Honor, I’d Like to Put You in the Shoes of One of Dr. Morehouse’s Thirty Proven Clients by M. V. Pine (absolutely horrifying), Black Hole by November Rush (horrifying & beautiful & heartbreaking all at once), Lost and Found by Charlene Adhiambo (I too feel like a dead body rotting in a tub that has nothing except her dreams) & American Gothic by LC von Hessen! 

I really enjoyed the continued use of second person POV in these stories, it really brought a haunting vibe to a lot of the stories! A lot of the stories were on the erotic horror side, which isn’t for me, so I think that’s why some of the stories didn’t connect with me. But, the ones I enjoyed, I REALLY enjoyed!

Individual story ratings:

📚 Your Honor, I’d Like to Put You in the Shoes of One of Dr. Morehouse’s Thirty Proven Clients by M. V. Pine: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

> TW: dead naming, transphobia

📚 This Body is not your home by Son M. : ⭐️⭐️⭐️

📚 Curdled Song of the Broken Earth by Jonathan Louis Duckworth: DNF

📚 Fortune Favors Grief by Cassandra Khaw: ⭐️

📚 Cleodora by August Clarke: ⭐️⭐️✨

📚 Summer Night by Robbie Banfitch: ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

> TW: hate crime

📚 Bad Axe by Ed Kurtz: ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

> TW: suicide; grief

📚American Gothic by LC von Hessen: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

📚Sardines by Gretchen Felker-Martin: DNF

📚 Zero Tolerance by M. F. Rose: DNF

> TW: bullying

📚 Black Hole by November Rush: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

📚Lost and Found by Charlene Adhiambo: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 

> TW: parental abandonment, drug use

📚Love Like Ours by Violet: ⭐️⭐️✨

📚 Filthy Animals by Thomas Kearnes: skipped (I can tell this one is not for my ace ass lol)

📚 Worth the Dying Shame by Matteo L. Cerilli: DNF (loved the idea, but couldn’t get into the writing) 

📚 All of Our Boys Are Missing by Joe Koch: DNF

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Bullying, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, and Suicide

Moderate: Abandonment

shrikebait's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Man...tragic is right.

This anthology is not for the faint of heart. It managed to make me squirm one moment and break my heart the next. There is plenty of grotesque, otherworldly horror, but the core of this collection is the real-world horror queer folks face.

In my opinion, all of the stories are well-written and fit the theme of this anthology. That being said, some just did not capture my attention as well as others. I would still recommend this as a solid anthology for fans of queer horror. 

Thank you to the authors and to BookSirens for the opportunity to read this book for free. I'm leaving this review of my own accord. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Death, Murder, Vomit, Alcoholism, Bullying, Terminal illness, Drug use, Violence, Body horror, Sexual content, Gore, and Cursing

Moderate: Suicide, Religious bigotry, Pandemic/Epidemic, Panic attacks/disorders, Outing, Dysphoria, Homophobia, Transphobia, Grief, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Sexual harassment, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts