Night of the Living Queers is out August 29th.

Night of the Living Queers is a YA horror anthology set on Halloween night during a blue moon. Thirteen stories explore how Halloween can be more than just candies and frights, but a night where anything is possible. Each short story is told through the lens of a different BIPOC teen and the Halloween night that changes their lives forever. 

Horror is a genre that lends to the exploration of fear which in turn allows for deep character growth. In this sense, it’s the perfect genre to explore the intersection of queerness and ethnicity because it encourages the exploration of the darker parts of humanity while offering a chance for queer people of color to be authentic without fear of judgment or reproach. Halloween in particular is a time when many people feel they no longer have to hide the best parts of themselves. This is true for everyone but particularly so for QPOC individuals. The intersection of queerness and ethnic diversity is functionally invisible in most things, horror included. Queer people of color have been pushed to the margins and subjected to dehumanizing stereotypes which warps their perception and authenticity. Through the horror genre, these stereotypes can be deconstructed. Night of the Living Queers allows queer readers to reclaim that narrative and celebrate the complexity of their identities.

Horror is also a great avenue for exploring concepts like fear and otherness, as it provides a way for us to turn things that may not necessarily be solid and tangible into something that we can point to and say, “See? I told you there was something lurking in the dark!” Sometimes it can be hard to articulate how it feels to not belong, or not feel wanted, or loved, or seen. But that’s where the monsters come in. Our negative emotions and experiences can take the shape of something new. Something we can understand.

Whether it’s a vampire, Babadook, ghost, the shapeshifting demon in It Follows, or countless other creatures from folklore, myth, and our collective storytelling consciousness, the fear of something unknown – something waiting just at the edge of your consciousness, or out of sight – has been with us for as long as humans have existed. 

What first started out as a survival instinct – maybe those glowing eyes in the bushes belong to something that would like to eat you – has, unfortunately, turned into a way to alienate people who fall outside of a falsely imposed societal “norm.” If you don’t look a certain way, act a certain way, love a certain way, society is very quick to teach you that you’re not human anymore. Instead, you’re the thing with yellow eyes waiting to eat the human. 

And that’s where horror becomes fun. Because, while we all are human (despite what society would lead us to believe), there’s also something cathartic about being the monster. Or defeating the monster. Or, in some cases, falling in love with the monster. 

Horror (and life) are both about choices. Do you run from the monster? Embrace it? Or step into that dark room, take your power back, and face it?

And for additional YA books releasing this Fall that explore queerness through the horror lens, check out: 

The Spirit Bares its Teeth by A.J. White (September 5, 2023)

London, 1883. The Veil between the living and dead has thinned. Violet-eyed mediums commune with spirits under the watchful eye of the Royal Speaker Society, and sixteen-year-old Silas Bell would rather rip out his violet eyes than become an obedient Speaker wife. According to Mother, he’ll be married by the end of the year. It doesn’t matter that he’s needed a decade of tutors to hide his autism; that he practices surgery on slaughtered pigs; that he is a boy, not the girl the world insists on seeing.

After a failed attempt to escape an arranged marriage, Silas is diagnosed with Veil sickness—a mysterious disease sending violet-eyed women into madness—and shipped away to Braxton’s Sanitorium and Finishing School. The facility is cold, the instructors merciless, and the students either bloom into eligible wives or disappear. So when the ghosts of missing students start begging Silas for help, he decides to reach into Braxton’s innards and expose its rotten guts to the world—as long as the school doesn’t break him first.

The Forest Demands its Due by Kosoko Jackson (October 3, 2023)

Regent Academy has a long and storied history in Winslow, Vermont, as does the forest that surrounds it. The school is known for molding teens into leaders, but its history is far more nefarious. 

Seventeen-year-old Douglas Jones wants nothing to do with Regent’s king-making; he’s just trying to survive. But then a student is murdered and, for some reason, by the next day no one remembers him having ever existed, except for Douglas and the groundskeeper’s son, Everett Everley. In his determination to uncover the truth, Douglas awakens a horror hidden within the forest, unearthing secrets that have been buried for centuries. A vengeful creature wants blood as payment for a debt more than 300 years in the making—or it will swallow all of Winslow in darkness.

And for the first time in his life, Douglas might have a chance to grasp the one thing he’s always felt was missing: power. But if he’s not careful, he will find out that power has a tendency to corrupt absolutely everything.

Beholder by Ryan La Sala (October 3, 2023) 

Athanasios “Athan” Bakirtzis hasn’t had an easy life. Orphaned by a fire at a young age, he’s had to rely on his charm, his under-the-table job as an art handler, and the generosity of family friends to care for his ailing Yiayia, his grandmother.

But Athan also has a secret: a hereditary power that allows him to rewind the reflection in any mirror, peering into its recent past. Superstitious Yiayia calls the family ability a curse, and has long warned him never to use it. For Athan, who’s survived this long by keeping to the realm of the real, this is a perfectly agreeable arrangement.

Until the night of the party. After being invited to a penthouse soiree for New York’s art elite, Athan breaks his grandmother’s rule during a trip to the bathroom, turning back his reflection for just a moment. Then he hears a slam against the bathroom door, followed by a scream. Athan peers outside, only to be pushed back in by a boy his age. The boy gravely tells him not to open the door, then closes Athan in.

Before Athan can process what’s happening, more screams follow, and the party descends into chaos. When he finally emerges, he discovers a massacre where the victims appear to have arranged themselves into a disturbingly elegant sculpture—and Athan’s mysterious savior is nowhere to be found.

Something evil is compelling people to destructive acts, a presence that’s been hiding behind Athan’s reflection his whole life, watching and biding its time. Soon, he’s swept up in a supernatural conspiracy that spans New York, of occult high societies and deadly eldritch designs. If beauty really is in the eye of the beholder, what can it do to us once it’s inside?

Gorgeous Gruesome Faces by Linda Cheng (November 7, 2023)

After a shocking scandal that abruptly ended her teen popstar career, eighteen-year-old Sunny Lee spends her days longing for her former life and cyberstalking her ex-BFF and groupmate, Candie. The two were once inseparable, but that was then—before the tragedy and heartache they left in their wake.

In the here and now, Sunny is surprised to discover that Candie is attending a new K-pop workshop in her hometown. Candie might be there chasing stardom, but Sunny can’t resist the chance to join her and finally confront their traumatic history. Because she still can’t figure out what happened that horrible night when Mina, the third in their tight-knit trio, jumped to her death. Or if the dark and otherworldly secrets she and Candie were keeping had something to do with it . . .

But the workshop doesn’t bring the answers Sunny had hoped for, nor a happy reunion with Candie. Instead, Sunny finds herself haunted by ghostly visions while strange injuries start happening to her competitors—followed by even stranger mutilations to their bodies. In her race to survive, Sunny will have to expose just who is behind the carnage—and if Candie is out for blood once more.

And, while not technically horror, we’d be remiss not to mention Godly Heathens by H.E. Edgmon (November 28, 2023)

Gem Echols is a nonbinary Seminole teen living in the tiny town of Gracie, Georgia. Known for being their peers’ queer awakening, Gem leans hard on charm to disguise the anxious mess they are beneath. The only person privy to their authentic self is another trans kid, Enzo, who’s a thousand long, painful miles away in Brooklyn.

But even Enzo doesn’t know about Gem’s dreams, haunting visions of magic and violence that have always felt too real. So how the hell does Willa Mae Hardy? The strange new girl in town acts like she and Gem are old companions, and seems to know things about them they’ve never told anyone else.

When Gem is attacked by a stranger claiming to be the Goddess of Death, Willa Mae saves their life and finally offers some answers. She and Gem are reincarnated gods who’ve known and loved each other across lifetimes. But Gem – or at least who Gem used to be – hasn’t always been the most benevolent deity. They’ve made a lot of enemies in the pantheon—enemies who, like the Goddess of Death, will keep coming.

It’s a good thing they’ve still got Enzo. But as worlds collide and the past catches up with the present, Gem will discover that everyone has something to hide.

The post Monsters, Queerness & Fears, Oh My! appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

I went into this knowing very little about this book beyond the premise of a queer Buffy the Vampire Slayer meeting Filipino folklore in this horror comedy about a high school stage manager who accidentally sells her soul to a demon. That intersection of folklore and theatrical drama made me want to pick it up and the author, Alex Brown, took me completely by surprise. I was blown away by the strength of this book.

From the very first page, you have an uneasy sense sitting under your skin—that small hum of electricity when the tension begins to build. I liked how Brown manipulated the elements of a typical Faustian tale and imbues it with pathos and nuance. This is no ordinary deal with a devil, this is complicated, layered, and emotionally fraught. Brown ensures that there are tangible stakes here with bloodshed and bodies coming through, as well as the psychological horror wrecked by the manipulation of trauma. You can see the oncoming storm of destruction heading their way and you get totally swept up in its path. The pacing and tension was sublime here, causing you to devour the book and loving every second of it.

A real core focus of this book is a nuanced depiction of the aftereffects of abuse and trauma, which was excellent. Brown pours heart and soul into this, examining the minute ripple effects and the continuing ramifications of the trauma Cordelia faced. These make for some of the most horrifying sequences, which are real gut-punches. Choosing to focus your fantastical, demonic tale in a grounded, fraught and vulnerable story of trauma pays off so well. It gives you that emotional thread to hand on to and I found myself deeply invested in Cordelia and her story. The burden that she carries is immense and working through it to recognise how she should not have to carry it, with emotions redirected in unhealthy places for her, is a story that is so important to tell.

There is a definite focus on the cost of survival and the excruciating choices victims of abuse are often forced to make. That instability and elements of misplaced guilt around her survival are key parts of Cordelia’s character arc. This was easily one of the best parts of the book for me. Cordelia grows as a character so much over the book and her journey really resonated with me. Her quiet strength and drive to survive comes to the forefront, as she grapples with her trauma and learning to find a place where she can live with it. She knows it will not be banished easily, instead there is an acceptance that does not wholly define her.

Also, I loved how Brown wove in elements of Filipino folklore. This is something I knew very little about, but the book made me race off and learn so much more. This is an incredibly rich tapestry of tales that Brown draws on in creative and unexpected ways. The way it informs her narrative voice and character building is wonderful to watch unfold. My inner theatre nerd was also rejoicing with the amount of theatre content in here and Cordelia’s deep love for the artform. This was another outlet for emotional release and catharsis, an oasis of quiet peace (by comparison) in a turbulent world. In addition to this, I also loved the soft, sweet sapphic romance intertwined into the story. This provides such a comforting and heart-warming escape, growing naturally and with instant chemistry that I was invested in.

Damned If You Do is a book that balances heart-wrenching scenes with ones full of love, light, and joy. It embodies that ray of sunshine in the midst of a dark storm.

Damned If You Do is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.

Will you be picking up Damned If You Do? Tell us in the comments below!

Synopsis | Goodreads

Queer Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Filipino folklore in this horror comedy about a high school stage manager who accidentally sells her soul to a demon.

Seven years ago, Cordelia Scott’s abusive father left without a word, and life has been normal ever since. The seventeen-year-old spends her days stage managing the school play (which is going great, if anyone asks), pining over her best friend, Veronica, and failing one too many pop quizzes.

She’s never been sad that her father left, but she knows something is…missing. When her school guidance counselor, Fred, reveals during a session that he’s actually a demon, she learns that something is indeed a piece of her actual soul. Why? She unwittingly made a deal with him to make her father disappear – then bargained to have the memory erased. To make matters worse, Fred is here to make another Help him with a “little” demonic problem, or she’s doomed to spend eternity in Hell with her father.

The deal? Help Fred neutralize a rival demon, who means to do more harm in her hometown than your average demon deal.

The post Review: Damned If You Do by Alex Brown appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Read on to discover just a few of our YA picks and let us know in the comments if you will be reading any of them!

Together We Rot by Skyla Arndt
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A teen girl looking for the truth about her missing mother forms a reluctant alliance with her former best friend…in exchange for hiding him from his cult-leading family.

Actually Super by Adi Alsaid
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A globetrotting novel that takes a determined teen from Japan to Australia and to Argentina and Mexico on a quest to prove that humanity is more good than bad from the author of Let’s Get Lost and Before Takeoff.

Damned if You Do by Alex Brown
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Queer Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Filipino folklore in this horror comedy about a high school stage manager who accidentally sells her soul to a demon.

Her Radiant Curse by Elizabeth Lim
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From the New York Times bestselling author of SIX CRIMSON CRANES comes a tale of two sisters—one as beautiful as the other is monstrous—who must fight to save each other when a betrothal contest gone wrong unleashes an evil that could sever their bond forever.

Pride and Prejudice and Pittsburgh by Rachael Lippincott
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From the New York Times bestselling coauthor of Five Feet Apart and She Gets the Girl comes a fresh and inventive sapphic romantic comedy that’s What If It’s Us meets Bridgerton.

Face the Night by Lani Forbes
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On a harsh frontier where good and evil contend for people’s minds, a young woman must fight for her true identity in this scintillating YA fantasy from the author of the award-winning Age of the Seventh Sun trilogy.

Unnecessary Drama by Nina Kenwood
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From the award-winning author of It Sounded Better in My Head comes a deliciously entertaining enemies-to-lovers romantic comedy about two high school nemeses who end up sharing a house together their first year of college

Forgive Me Not by Jennifer Baker
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In this searing indictment of the juvenile justice system, one incarcerated teen weighs what she is willing to endure for forgiveness.

A Tall Dark Trouble by Vanessa Montalban
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Perfect for fans of Shea Ernshaw, Nina Moreno, and Elizabeth Acevedo, Vanessa Montalban’s YA debut is a dazzling Latine twist on Practical Magic that follows a family of Cuban American brujas entangled in love, magic, and murder.

Who Could Love You, Astor Price? by Amy Jane Lehan
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Set in a small Australian town and promising moments of heartache and hope, Who Could Love You, Astor Price? is the debut novel from Amy Jane Lehan.

I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast is Me by Jamison Shea
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Tilly in Technicolor by Mazey Eddings
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Tilly in Technicolor is Mazey Eddings’s sparkling YA debut about two neurodivergent teens who form a connection over the course of a summer.

My Father, The Panda Killer by Jamie Jo Hoang
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A poignant coming-of-age story told in two alternating voices: a California teenager railing against the Vietnamese culture, juxtaposed with her father as an eleven-year-old boat person on a harrowing and traumatic refugee journey from Vietnam to the United States.

Rook by William Ritter
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This standalone adventure set in the world of the  New York Times  bestselling Jackaby series brims with humor, heart, and—of course—a hefty dose of supernatural mayhem.

The Boy You Always Wanted by Michelle Quach
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From Not Here to Be Liked author Michelle Quach comes a smartly funny, heartfelt story told in dual POV about a young woman roping in her childhood crush to act as an honorary male heir to fulfill her grandfather’s dying wish. A story about first love, familial duties, and finding yourself—perfect for fans of Emiko Jean and Loan Le.

The Brothers Hawthorne by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
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Four brothers. Two missions. One explosive read. Jennifer Lynn Barnes returns to the world of her #1 bestselling Inheritance Games trilogy, and the stakes have never been higher.  

What August YA releases are you looking forward to? Tell us in the comments below!

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Read on to discover just a few of our picks and let us know if you’ll be checking any of them out!

Guardians of the Dawn: Zhara by S. Jae-Jones
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Sailor Moon meets Cinder in Guardians of Dawn: Zhara, the start of a new, richly imagined fantasy series from S. Jae-Jones, the New York Times bestselling author of Wintersong.

Accidentally in Love by Danielle Jackson
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A delightful rom-com where grumpy-meets-sunshine collides with enemies-to-lovers in this perfect summer novel, written for fans of Kate Stayman-London, Olivia Dade, and Denise Williams.

The Water Outlaws by S.L. Huang
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Inspired by a classic of martial arts literature, S. L. Huang’s The Water Outlaws are bandits of devastating ruthlessness, unseemly femininity, dangerous philosophies, and ungovernable gender who are ready to make history—or tear it apart.

Teach the Torches to Burn: A Romeo & Juliet Remix by Caleb Roehrig
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In the Remixed Classics series, authors from marginalized backgrounds reinterpret classic works through their own cultural lens to subvert the overwhelming cishet, white, and male canon. Queer star-crossed love amid a centuries-old feud takes center stage in this Romeo & Juliet remix that knows sometimes, the best way is to make it gay.

The Trap by Catherine Ryan Howard
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From award-winning, internationally bestselling crime writer Catherine Ryan Howard comes The Trap: an unsettling mystery inspired by a series of still-unsolved disappearances in Ireland in the 90s, wherein one young woman risks everything to catch a faceless killer.

House of Odysseus by Claire North
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This “powerful, fresh, and unflinching” reimagining from the award-winning author of the Penelope trilogy breathes life into ancient myth and gives voice to the women who stand defiant in a world ruled by ruthless men (Jennifer Saint).

Night of the Living Queers: 13 Tales of Terror Delight
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Night of the Living Queers is a YA horror anthology that explores a night when anything is possible, exclusively featuring queer authors of color putting fresh spins on classic horror tropes and tales.

Kiss the Girl by Zoraida Córdova
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A modern tale of unexpectedly falling in love and finding your voice, Kiss the Girl is the highly anticipated third installment in the acclaimed and best-selling Meant to Be collection.

The Blonde Identity by Ally Carter
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The New York Times bestselling YA author of the beloved Gallagher Girls series bursts onto the adult scene with a fast-paced, hilarious road trip rom-com about a woman with amnesia who discovers she’s the identical twin sister of a rogue spy… and must team up with a rugged, grumpy operative to stay alive.

More Perfect by Temi Oh
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A reimagining of the Greek myth of Eurydice and Orpheus, for fans of Becky Chambers and William Gibson by Alex Award–winning author Temi Oh.

Delicate Condition by Danielle Valentine
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The Push meets The Silent Patient in a gripping thriller that follows a woman convinced a sinister figure is going to great lengths to make sure her pregnancy never happens—while the men in her life refuse to believe a word she says.

With Love, from Cold World by Alicia Thompson
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She has a to-do list a mile long and falling for her coworker isn’t on it–yet somehow he’s become her top priority in this romantic comedy from the national bestselling author of Love in the Time of Serial Killers.

What August book releases are you looking forward to? Tell us in the comments below!

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This folk horror anthology offers thirteen distinctive stories, with unique voices and characters. They are all rooted in some sense, be that to a community, isolated setting or character. This review will break down each story, giving you a sense of the terror uniting them all.

Stay by Erica Waters proves once more why Waters is so damn good at these stories bogged down in myth and mystery and a little sprinkle of magic. This story really digs into toxic family enmeshment, particularly the idea of familial duty. Ghosts are the embodiment of our past refracting into our present. Waters emphasises this in the honouring of ancestry and family, but also indicating how this can perpetuate a toxic cycle.

Similarly, The Tallest Poppy by Chloe Gong is a classically unnerving horror story. It is no surprise that yet again I adored Gong’s style—it was mysterious, lyrical and tinged with danger. I felt utterly wrapped up within the story. It was wonderfully Gothic, brimming with a cursed house, mysterious illnesses and dolls that I’m not sure I can ever forget.

Loved by All, Save One by Tori Bovalino was a fantastic ghost story about unsolved murders, memory and legacy. Bovalino knows how to handle tension, with it constantly ramping up. This is underlined with the unexpected plot shift, which was great fun. It questions the narrative surrounding victims of violent crimes, namely why do we only remember the violent end rather than the life that came before?

One-Lane Bridge by Hannah Whitten is a fiercely insightful story about anger, fracturing friendships and growing up. It is mired in blood and sacrifices, calling to that deep pit of anger that lurks inside us all. Whitten introduces an intriguing examination of the validity of that anger and how it can be abused by others. Following on, The Ghost on the Shore by Alison Saft was a stunning sapphic story about love, loss and grief. I thought it enclosed really quite beautiful sentiments about these topics in a creative way. One of my standouts of the anthology was Petrified by Olivia Chadha. I loved the way the protection of the land and nature forms a key part of the narrative here. It is such an impactful and genuinely chilling story that reflects the monstrosity of mankind. Third Burn by Courtney Gould has a similar reflection, with a focus on female anger and the patriarchy’s reaction to women it cannot control. I loved the way Gould intersected the past and present, to really demonstrate this legacy of women moving beyond the control of their town/society.

It Stays With You by Aden Polydoros does not hang around, getting straight into deadly territory. I adored this fresh take on the Bloody Mary myth, with a pinch of Pennywise mixed in for good measure. Polydoros deftly explores facing trauma and defeating your monsters, while emphatically emphasising how recovery is a journey with highs and pitfalls. Alex Brown continues that raw vulnerability in Truth or Dare. This story is so about a toxic and manipulative relationship, with elements of narrative ambiguity and distrust. The ending continues this, with nothing being truly explained and plenty left open for discussion. Finally, we conclude with The Burning One by Shakira Toussaint. What a firecracker of a story for the anthology to end on. This is an incredibly strong story, with an unconventional writing style that really pulls you into the narrative.

The Gathering Dark is an incredibly strong anthology, with every story adding another layer of fear and intensely atmospheric writing. This is a must-add for every horror lover’s shelf.

The Gathering Dark is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of September 6th 2022.

Will you be picking up The Gathering Dark? Tell us in the comments below!

Synopsis | Goodreads

Urban legends and folktales are given new life in this collection of 13 spine-tingling stories from a stellar line-up of critically acclaimed authors.

A cemetery full of the restless dead. A town so wicked it has already burned twice, with the breath of the third fire looming. A rural, isolated bridge with a terrifying monster waiting for the completion of its summoning ritual. A lake that allows the drowned to return, though they have been changed by the claws of death. These are the shadowed, liminal spaces where the curses and monsters lurk, refusing to be forgotten.

Hauntings, and a variety of horrifying secrets, lurk in the places we once called home. Written by New York Times bestselling, and other critically acclaimed, authors these stories shed a harsh light on the scariest tales we grew up with.

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