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A review by em_harring
Night of the Living Queers by Alex Brown, Shelly Page
4.0
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc of this book!
I really enjoyed this short story anthology! Each story takes place on Halloween night under a blue moon. Mischief and horror and love abound. While not every story worked for me, I appreciate the care that was taken in terms of representation both in the characters and in the types of stories. I did feel the first half of the collection was stronger than the second half in terms of plot, characterization, and atmosphere.
There are so many fun ghosts, monsters, and ghouls within the collection--including some I had never heard of before. I would have ate this up as a teen.
Overall, I would definitely recommend, especially during the month of October!
- "Welcome to the Hotel Paranoia" by Vanessa Montalban: 4 stars. What an opening story! I dug the atmosphere in this, though would have loved a bit more backstory.
- "The Visitor" by Kalynn Bayron: 5 stars. I loved the way this handled grief and it featured one of my favorite supernatural creatures.
- "A Brief Intermission" by Sara Farizan: 3.5 stars. The concept of this story was fun, but I didn't love some of the writing.
- "Guested" by Rebecca Kim Wells: 4.5 stars. Enjoyed this! Don't trust body swapping tech, y'all.
- "Rocky Road with Caramel Drizzle" by Kosoko Jackson: 3 stars. Not my favorite. A fine story. Definitely some heavy moments re: homophobia.
- "The Three Phases of Ghost Hunting" by Alex Brown: 4 stars. This was cute. Friends ghost hunt in a supposedly haunted mall and shenanigans ensue.
- "Nine Stops" by Trang Thanh Tran: 5 stars. Easily my favorite out of the collection. I love Tran's writing and this one is so creepy a la The Ring.
- "Leyla Mendoza and the Last House on the Lane" by Maya Gittelman: 4.5 stars. This tale was adorable and so wholesome and the perfect cozy Halloween night read. All about acceptance and identity.
- "In You to Burn" by Em X. Liu: 3 stars. This needed a bit more. It felt too short.
- "Anna" by Shelly Page: 3.5 stars. This would make a great Blumhouse movie. Don't babysit on Halloween.
- "Hey There, Demons" by Tara Sim: 3 stars. This was cute, but didn't have a whole lot of substance. It felt very young to me.
- "Save Me From Myself" by Auria Shonibar: 3.5. This was heavy, but I wanted a bit more.
- "Knickknack" by Ryan Douglas: 2 stars. The one story in the collection I didn't really like. The writing didn't work for me or the characters.
I really enjoyed this short story anthology! Each story takes place on Halloween night under a blue moon. Mischief and horror and love abound. While not every story worked for me, I appreciate the care that was taken in terms of representation both in the characters and in the types of stories. I did feel the first half of the collection was stronger than the second half in terms of plot, characterization, and atmosphere.
There are so many fun ghosts, monsters, and ghouls within the collection--including some I had never heard of before. I would have ate this up as a teen.
Overall, I would definitely recommend, especially during the month of October!
- "Welcome to the Hotel Paranoia" by Vanessa Montalban: 4 stars. What an opening story! I dug the atmosphere in this, though would have loved a bit more backstory.
- "The Visitor" by Kalynn Bayron: 5 stars. I loved the way this handled grief and it featured one of my favorite supernatural creatures.
- "A Brief Intermission" by Sara Farizan: 3.5 stars. The concept of this story was fun, but I didn't love some of the writing.
- "Guested" by Rebecca Kim Wells: 4.5 stars. Enjoyed this! Don't trust body swapping tech, y'all.
- "Rocky Road with Caramel Drizzle" by Kosoko Jackson: 3 stars. Not my favorite. A fine story. Definitely some heavy moments re: homophobia.
- "The Three Phases of Ghost Hunting" by Alex Brown: 4 stars. This was cute. Friends ghost hunt in a supposedly haunted mall and shenanigans ensue.
- "Nine Stops" by Trang Thanh Tran: 5 stars. Easily my favorite out of the collection. I love Tran's writing and this one is so creepy a la The Ring.
- "Leyla Mendoza and the Last House on the Lane" by Maya Gittelman: 4.5 stars. This tale was adorable and so wholesome and the perfect cozy Halloween night read. All about acceptance and identity.
- "In You to Burn" by Em X. Liu: 3 stars. This needed a bit more. It felt too short.
- "Anna" by Shelly Page: 3.5 stars. This would make a great Blumhouse movie. Don't babysit on Halloween.
- "Hey There, Demons" by Tara Sim: 3 stars. This was cute, but didn't have a whole lot of substance. It felt very young to me.
- "Save Me From Myself" by Auria Shonibar: 3.5. This was heavy, but I wanted a bit more.
- "Knickknack" by Ryan Douglas: 2 stars. The one story in the collection I didn't really like. The writing didn't work for me or the characters.