Pride Month Never Ends – The Return of the LGBTQ+ horror reads
June has passed in a rainbow flag covered coffin and as corporate entities put away their LGBTQ+ allyship for another year, it’s worth remembering that there’s plenty of small ways you can keep supporting those queer horror works that may get recommended to you but are forgotten by the time Pride month ends. This year I decided to spend all of Pride month reading so I would have plenty of recs to keep up the barrage long after the rainbow flags come down. Perhaps the biggest bonus of my month spent working on my queer horror to be read list was all the great works I found in addition to the ones I intended to read. Here’s the first, but far from the last, of my LGBTQ+ horror book list. On with the barrage!
Vintage: A Ghost Story by Steve Berman
I can’t tell you how far I was into this book before I realized the main character was never named. But, when you’re a gay Goth teen who’s dropped out of high school and left home after your parents discovered your sexuality, is now living with your aunt while working at a vintage clothing shop, and have a crush on a ghost you met while walking alone on an empty strech of highway one night, what do names really matter?
Vintage may sound like something out of a Christopher Pike novel, but I think you’ll find it’s something far more. Think The Sixth Sense meets The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Our main character and his friends who populate the book are believably flawed, yet relatable, teenage personalities. That goes for the more ghostly presences as well. The prose is often much deeper and more intracrate than what you would expect from a YA novel. It’s not often I would deem something both scary and erotogenic, but the ghost sex in this one is centerinly something different, and often times frightening. As an added bonus, it mentions in the back of the book that one-fifth of the author’s royalties are donated to the Gay-Straight Alliance Network and the Trevor Project. This one isn’t to be missed.
Five out of five Cthulhu. 
(5 / 5)
A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson
Oh, how I wanted to love this book! A queer retelling of Dracula from the point of view of his polycule of wives? Sounds great! Sign me up! Unfortunately, that wasn’t exactly what the book was about.
The book is told from the point of view of Constanta, a young woman whom a dark, mysterious stranger finds dying after a village raid. The stranger gives to her the gift, and the curse, of undying life. She and he-who-shall-not-be-named-Dracula spend hundreds of years together, sharing lovers of all sexes in their bed and in their stomachs. Constanta is happy, but isolated. That is until Count Noname meets another woman, Magdalena, whom Constanta conveniently falls in love with as well. This pattern repeats itself when the trio meet the young Russian man Alexei. Definitely-not-Dracula, meanwhile, grows ever more controlling and monstrous to his lovers until they realize it’s either going to have to be them, or him.
The speed at which whole centuries go by in the book makes everything seem a bit rushed. People fall in love instantly so it’s hard to tell what emotions are real and what are mere vampire glamor. The horror of having to kill to stay alive for centuries is mostly glossed over in favor of showing what a manipulative gaslighter Dracula can be and the events of the original novel are only given a single throwaway line in passing. That’s not to say vampires bonding over their continued abuse by their creator isn’t an interesting story, it’s just not the one I was expecting when I picked up the book. It was still an enjoyable read nonetheless.
Three out of five Cthulhu. 
(3 / 5)
This is Not a Horror Movie by Sara Dobie Bauer
Welcome to summer vacation in Florida! There’s the beach, lots of Stephen King books to read, the hot neighbor boy you’ve had a crush on for years, the annoying twin sister, the possibly haunted abandoned beach resort that’s eating people . . . Wait. What?
That’s just a small part of what you’re going to get in This is Not a Horror Movie, a fun rom-com slash horror slash coming of age, well, just plain slash story (if you know the other meaning of that word). Horror lover extraordinaire Emory is on his last summer vacation in Longboat Key, Florida with his family before he goes to college. Conner, the boy next door of his dreams, is going to be a huge part of that vacation, along with Vincent Price stalkers, missing homeless Vietnam vets, demonic cults, kidnappings, and no one’s first times but certainly their best times.
Sometimes a book can be just a fun romp, and that’s definitely what this book is. Most of the horror elements don’t even kick in until half-way through the book, but honestly, I didn’t even notice because I was having such a good time with the characters, who are both funny and endearing. Emory’s horror knowledge is used less as a meta reference like in Scream and more of something to bond over with Conner. Of course, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t come in handy when their lives are on the line. If you’re looking for a straight up horror story, like the title says, this probably isn’t what you’re looking for. If you’re looking for a good time and a fun summer read, then call me. I’ll happily loan you my copy of this book.
Four out of Five Cthulhu. 
(4 / 5)
Rolling in the Deep and Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant
A two for one special! You know what’s really scary? Mermaids. Or at least you’ll be thinking so after you read these two books by Mira Grant about a couple of documentary film crews on assignment to find mermaids below the bathypelagic zone (also known as midnight zone) in the deepest parts of the ocean of the Mariana Trench.
In what could be a prequel to the movie Underwater, or maybe Aquaman, it’s no spoiler to tell you the first of the crews of the research ship the Atargatis is met with an unimaginable tragedy. Rolling in the Deep is the novella that tells the frighting story of what happened to the Atargatis from the points of view of its crew, scientists, film crew, professional mermaid performers, and tv personalities. It’s as scientific and scary as anything by Michael Crichton, but it does leave you with some unanswered questions.
Into the Drowning Deep picks up right where Rolling in the Deep leaves off. Seven years later, another crew, much better prepared (supposedly), is sent back to the Mariana Trench to either prove or disprove what happened aboard the Atargatis. Into the Drowning Deep may be a bit long in the tooth when it comes to scientists arguing with each other, stereotypical big game hunters who are hired on as security, and evil corporations (going to need a “Does the Dolphin Die?” website now), but it does answer the bigger questions Rolling in the Deep leaves behind. And the biggest question of all that will keep you reading to the end, will they survive?
While these books are more in the traditional horror genre, they are filled with good representation of all sorts; hearing impaired characters, LGBTQ+ characters, neurodivergent characters, physically disabled characters, and many others. There’s a little something for everyone in other words.
Five out of Five for Rolling in the Deep, three out of Five for Into the Drowning Deep, giving an overall score of four out of Five Cthulhu. (4 / 5)
Ever wonder what would happen if a witch, a mythological dreamscape, and a kitchen disaster collided at full speed? Jennifer Weigel’s Let’s Do Lunch (Witch Hayzelle’s Recipes for Disaster Book 1) doesn’t just answer that question—it serves it up on a flaming silver platter with a side of snarky humor and alliterative goodness.
This fast-paced, genre-blending novella is part mythological adventure, part obsessive investigation (Moby Dick style), and part cookbook. Yes, you read that right. The book sprinkles in recipes—some of which might be surprisingly edible (looking at you, tofu dish). I think the mix of this worked really well. At times, and this might be because of my background, I thought that the book was pushing into Gargantuan territory and then it slipped back into a real recipe.
Where Let’s Do Lunch really shines is in its world-building. The mythology of dreams is an intriguing and immersive element that keeps the story grounded in a unique and whimsical lore. The characters, while more like vehicles for humor than deep personalities, fit well within the book’s quick and quirky style. There’s also a delightful meta-layer to the storytelling, making it feel self-aware in the best possible way.
- Amazon Kindle Edition
- Weigel, Jennifer (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
Last update on 2025-01-29 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Another thing that worked really well, even on Kindle, is the art the author produces. The drawings really do make a lot of the book pop and work remarkably well in black and white (or paperwhite, as the case may be). Even the cover is a mix of void space set aside by white–the creation of art through erasure of darkness.
Kindle Caveat:
One small hiccup–if you’re reading the Kindle version, be prepared for footnotes that don’t always play nice with e-readers. They can be tricky to navigate, making it tough to appreciate some of the book’s side notes without breaking the flow. This is something the publisher seems to agree with (as the amazon page has a similar warning).
Overall and Score
Overall, Let’s Do Lunch is a light, fun read perfect for anyone who enjoys their fantasy with a heavy dose of humor and a sprinkle of culinary catastrophe. If the rest of the Recipes for Disaster series keeps up this level of playful mayhem, fans are in for a treat (or at least a hilarious food-related accident).
(4 / 5)
“It’s the thing they say about Tome. Everyone returns in the end-“
Lucy Foley’s 7th and newest page-turner was released in June 2024. The Midnight Feast, demonstrates to readers why her name keeps appearing on the New York Times best sellers list. Blending a mystery/ thriller story with folkloric horror, Foley had me sitting up past my bedtime and considering moving Tome.
- Audible Audiobook
- Lucy Foley (Author) – Joe Eyre, Sarah Slimani, Roly Botha (Narrators)
- English (Publication Language)
Last update on 2025-01-27 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
The Plot.
The Manor, an exclusive retreat nestled deep within the woods, opens its doors on a weekend of glitzy chaos. Founder Francesca Meadows, is the picture of serene wellness. A meditating, green juice-drinking, organic linen-wearing type, at least on the surface. The Manor was left to her by her Grandfa (no this is not a typo!) and she summered here as a teen.
Francesca is rather stressed because it is opening night and the construction is still in progress. The next stage in the renovation is the building of treehouses for guests to stay in. Inspired by one that Francesca had as a child. However, this means cutting down trees in the woods. Though this part of the woods is technically private property the locals are not happy, and neither are the strange bird-like creatures in the woods. These are Elder trees after all, and cutting them down would be bad luck without asking the trees’ permission first…
As a diverse cast descends upon The Manor, each harboring concealed pasts, the idyllic facade begins to crumble. Locals, masquerading as glamorous outsiders, mingle with the elite, revealing a web of interconnected secrets and unspoken resentments.
Beneath the veneer of tranquility lies a simmering undercurrent of tension, fueled by unspoken desires, long-buried grudges, and the unsettling feeling that everyone, in their own way, is seeking redemption at The Manor.
Highlights.
The Midnight Feast brims with subtle and insightful social commentary. One of the most compelling aspects is Foley’s ingenious portrayal of the affluent imitating the pagan, and vice versa. The elite, led by Francesca Meadows, strive to embrace “natural living” with white robes, floral headpieces, and a veneer of eco-consciousness. Ironically, they are aping the very rituals of the local townsfolk, who hold deep-rooted pagan beliefs. Meanwhile, these locals are donning formal attire and dropping their accents to navigate the social circles of The Manor. This fascinating dynamic, presented with understated humor, highlights the performative nature of social identity and the blurred lines between genuine connection and superficial imitation.
On a more profound level, Foley grapples with the complex issue of land ownership and the historical injustices it can perpetuate. Francesca Meadows, with her inherited wealth and privileged position, asserts absolute dominion over the land. She views it as her exclusive domain. She attempts to restrict access to the woods, a vital thoroughfare for the local community, sparking a conflict that raises important questions about land rights, historical dispossession, and the inherent unfairness of a system that allows a few to claim ownership over land that has been traditionally used and revered by others for generations.
Drawbacks.
My only criticism of this book is for something Foley is known for doing; 5+ points of view. There’s Bella, Owen, Francesca, Eddie, DI Walker, and local fishermen, then add to this journal entries from the summer of 2010 and it really does feel like you are drowning in the beginning. Despite this overwhelm, as you become more familiar with the characters it becomes easier to follow. Foley is excellent at making her characters’ voices distinct from one another. So much so that you almost don’t need the names at the top of the chapters. But buyer beware.
- Amazon Kindle Edition
- Foley, Lucy (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
Last update on 2025-01-27 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
The Final Take.
Having thoroughly enjoyed all of Foley’s novels that I’ve read, I can confidently say that The Midnight Feast is a standout. The seamless integration of folkloric elements – a personal favorite – truly elevates the narrative. From the enigmatic markings to the otherworldly creatures lurking within the forest and the intriguing use of solstice as chapter markers, Foley masterfully weaves a captivating and atmospheric tale that kept me utterly engrossed. This is a true page-turner that I wholeheartedly recommend.
(5 / 5)
Published in January of 2024, This Wretched Valley is Jenny Kiefer’s debut novel and is a horror written for hikers, campers, and all of your general outdoorsy type people. Reminiscent of Scott Smith’s The Ruins, with a healthy helping of Adam Nevill’s The Ritual, This Wretched Valley is a story of restless and vengeful spirits with some spectacular body horror scenes you will not forget.
The Plot.
Set in Kentucky, This Wretched Valley’s main plot covers a week in March of 2019. The time-stamped chapters follow four college friends and their faithful Australian Shepherd. One of the four friends, Clay, has discovered a rock formation that appears to have never been climbed or explored. The group embark on an expedition that is part rock climbing exploration and part scientific research. From the moment they enter the valley at the base of the rock things don’t feel right. Their dog, Slade, is acting funny and the plant life grows in unusual varieties and patterns for this part of Kentucky.
After an accident climbing the rock things go from bad to worse, with strange apparitions appearing before them and dead animals being left at the edges of the camp. The worst thing is that despite following their GPS, they can’t seem to find their way back to the car. Tempers flare, but is it because of the situation they find themselves in, or is something influencing their emotions?
Highlights.
One of the highlights of This Wretched Valley is the short chapters that are dotted throughout the book. These chapters tell the stories of other people who came before our hikers, from other centuries, that suffered due to their presence in the valley. As the main chapters culminate the characters from the historical chapters begin to pop up in the present.
The descriptions of the injuries the hikers suffer, real and imagined, are excellent. Kiefer really knows how to make a reader squirm, if you enjoy blood and gore this book is for you. There is one scene in particular with a swarm of flies that I read twice.
Drawbacks.
I know it is a necessary evil in horror, that the main characters must miss things that may seem obvious to the reader for the story to build. I mean, if the hikers in This Wretched Valley picked up on how the dog was acting in the first chapter and left we wouldn’t have this excellent book. That being said, so many things begin to go wrong, but each is shrugged off or explained away. The ignorance of huge things that were happening right in front of them seemed a little too wilful. Perhaps we can give Kiefer the benefit of the doubt and assume that maybe this was the point, the wilfully ignorant get what they deserve.
Another grip I have with this book is the head-hopping. Rather than focus on one character in a chapter and reading their point of view, Kiefer has head hopped. Delivering various points of view within a chapter, sometimes within a paragraph. And that’s fine, many authors do this. However, at times it was hard to figure out who was seeing or thinking a particular thing. Going back to reread some paragraphs did help, but stopping in the middle of the action to reread is not ideal.
The Final Take.
While I’m not an avid outdoorsman myself – camping, hiking, and climbing aren’t my passions. I found myself thoroughly engaged with the descriptions of the natural world in this novel. Kiefer, a rock climbing enthusiast, clearly brings a genuine passion and expertise to her depictions of This Wretched Valley. I believe any reader who enjoys these pursuits will find a particular resonance in her writing.
For those interested, I discovered that Jenny Kiefer owns Butcher Cabin Books, a unique horror bookstore in Louisville, Kentucky. If you’re in the area perhaps pop in and explore a book store dedicated to the world of horror literature.
(4 / 5)
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Some awesome cool stuff to look forward to. Killer mermaids? Yes please