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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I think this could have been at least 100 pages shorter. I enjoyed the story overall but it was much longer than if needed to be
Read- recommended by/bought at Comma, a Bookstore. Set in 1989, Joe and Ronnie move to Fire Island to find summer jobs and rich boyfriends. Instead they meet Howie and Lenny-OG fire Islanders who clean house by day and use their witchy disco moves to protect the new young gays by night. Magic realism with a history lesson on the start of AIDS.
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
fast-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
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The publisher's description doesn't do this book justice: "Hit the dance floor with a coven of queer witches on 1980s Fire Island in this gay fantasy romance about finding magic, love, and family in the face of tragedy. A heartwarming LGBTQ+ novel for fans of steamy romance, loathe-at-first-sight, and Red, White, and Royal Blue ."
I think this blurb minimizes the book. I don't think romance is at the center of this book. It's more about community building, grief and loving yourself. The relationships between the characters are deep and meaningful. I love the setting of a Fire Island summer in the 80's. We are in the midst of the AIDS epidemic, but hope is just around the corner as AZT was recently approved as a treatment for the disease.
I really loved all the characters (even Ronnie). They seemed very real to me.
And who doesn't love a book with a soundtrack. Music plays a large role in this book. The Disco Witches use dancing as part of their magic, and Madonna has just hit it big. You can hear the music while reading.
I think this blurb minimizes the book. I don't think romance is at the center of this book. It's more about community building, grief and loving yourself. The relationships between the characters are deep and meaningful. I love the setting of a Fire Island summer in the 80's. We are in the midst of the AIDS epidemic, but hope is just around the corner as AZT was recently approved as a treatment for the disease.
I really loved all the characters (even Ronnie). They seemed very real to me.
And who doesn't love a book with a soundtrack. Music plays a large role in this book. The Disco Witches use dancing as part of their magic, and Madonna has just hit it big. You can hear the music while reading.
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I enjoyed the musically spiritual as well as the more serious moments in "Disco Witches of Fire Island" that tackled living and loving during the height of the AIDs crisis. More than one tear was shed.
Still, I felt a disconnect from the characters and wish the plot had climaxed (pun unintended in terms of the amount of sex in this book) earlier than in the last 50 pages so we could have seen more of their growth.
....
Unrelated to the integrity of Disco Witches, but on an especially personal note, I am wrestling with the discovery that an editor who the author thanks in his authors note is one who wrote a book (I confirmed this with a quick google + social media inspection) that I read as an impressionable young teen. This other book was premised on a girl getting HIV after a one night stand and the fallout from that situation.
I re-read this other novel a few years ago as an adult and realized how damaging the depiction of the disease and how this character was treated had affected me during my adolescence and development into a young, queer woman. So, I guess, I'm glad that this author-turned-editor is now enabling other stories with healthier depictions to reach print, but I do feel weird about it all. Processing!
Still, I felt a disconnect from the characters and wish the plot had climaxed (pun unintended in terms of the amount of sex in this book) earlier than in the last 50 pages so we could have seen more of their growth.
....
Unrelated to the integrity of Disco Witches, but on an especially personal note, I am wrestling with the discovery that an editor who the author thanks in his authors note is one who wrote a book (I confirmed this with a quick google + social media inspection) that I read as an impressionable young teen. This other book was premised on a girl getting HIV after a one night stand and the fallout from that situation.
I re-read this other novel a few years ago as an adult and realized how damaging the depiction of the disease and how this character was treated had affected me during my adolescence and development into a young, queer woman. So, I guess, I'm glad that this author-turned-editor is now enabling other stories with healthier depictions to reach print, but I do feel weird about it all. Processing!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
emotional
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes