A dark, delightful collection of stories. I got this on NetGalley forever ago and truly enjoyed it but never got around to reviewing it, but I loved every story I read here and can happily say if you like queer stories, dark stories, horror, or anything remotely in that area, this is a fantastic addition to any shelf. I do think it would fare better with a different cover that matches the high quality of the fiction within since the current one seems kind of cheap to me, but the writing is what matters and these stories are amazing.

Anthology of Queer Erotic Horror. I think I missed the word Erotic when I requested this book. I love horror and the queer angle was not a problem. I just am not a big fan of erotica. If I try to overlook that part, it was not a bad read, but that is often hard to overlook. I am giving this a 3 star, not so much because it was a 3 star read for me, but because it was my mistake not catching the Erotic part in the title.

I really enjoyed the book Dark Rainbow by Andrew Robertson. I will definitely buy a finished copy for myself and maybe I'll giveaway a copy on one of my bookish accounts too. I'm totally going to recommend this to others.

I made a few attempts at picking this title up and completing the review. Sadly, this collection wasn't for me. I love horror and LGBTQ+ stories and content and this one just didn't connect with me.

That being said, all of the stories are well-written. It just wasn't something that worked for me.

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
Thanks NetGalley!

This was a mix of gay, horror, and erotica stories. Some were not great to be honest, but others definitely held my interest. Honestly, i didn't read many that really fit the horror theme.

I was given an opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
This was an interesting mix of stories. Some, better than others, but nothing was 'bad', in my opinion. I look forward to reading more like this, and appreciate the opportunity to read and review.

I got an ARC of this book.

I love horror. I love erotica. I love queer. I was ready. I was let down. 

There were a few stories that were on the brink of interesting, but then fell short for me. One of the few stories that were interesting was the werewolf one, but I am not even sure that they were really werewolves and not something more monstrous. That one was on the brink, so close to being one I would recommend. It just didn't go quite far enough for me. That was one of maybe three stories that I was almost happy with. 

Most of the stories were ones I was counting down the time until they were done. They were not scary. They were not sexy. Some were barely even queer. I was left wondering why they were included in this anthology. There was one were the main bad guy was angry about being called gay, but then it ended with him having the worst example of bisexual representation I have ever seen sex. I really could have done without the need to have a potentially bisexual character be in the middle of a forced sex scene between his straight best friend and a girl, so he is with a man and woman at the same time. It was just a really bad time.

There were just more and more examples of things I just didn't need in my life. A lesbian version of Great Expectations, but with mummification? Never really needed that, thank you. I was interested to see where things would go, but it was just a let down. Though this was one of the more interesting stories in the collection. I am just sad. 

There really weren't any remarkable stories or word choices or really anything for me to cling to when it came to this collection. I am really disappointed. I was going to buy it for my partner, who is even bigger into horror than I am. I can't imagine him reading this book. It isn't any of the three things the title promised me.

Wow. Wow. Wow. I never thought such a combination could give so good results. There were stories that didn't surprise me at first, but things improve story after story. Each one has its own macabre charm.

Dark Rainbow is a collection of short stories featuring a mix of queer horror and erotica. Honestly, it wasn’t as queer as I thought it would be. There’s a lot of LGBT themes in this one, with most of them about males on males. If that’s supposed to be the queer part of the book, then it is not the kind of queer I’m looking for.
In fact, there’s another book by the same publisher: “Borderlands” which in my opinion contains more queer than this one

Dark Rainbow: Anthology of Queer Erotic Horror
by Andrew Robertson & Sephera Giron
2018
Riverdale Avenue Books
3.4 /5

What a perfect pairing. Horror and queer erotica. It works!!
Everyone of the 15 stories have an element of fear or suspense and alot of sex. Sex more than horror drive these stories, each about 10-15 pages. I wish there were more horror centered, but this was still a wild, and scary collection. Some new authors, to me....Valerie Alexander, Lindsay King-Miller, Sephera Giron, and Jeff C. Sherman.
Thanks to Riverdale Ave. Books and net galley for the e-book ARC for a fair and honest review.
#DarkRainbow #Netgalley

I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for my advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This collection of short stories combines erotic content and horror, something that goes well together, in my opinion. The stories itself are very diverse in plot and protagonists, which I appreciate. Some stories are gory, some are haunting, and all are frightening in one way or another. There is quite some explicit subject matter but it doesn't feel cheap.

My main criticism is that most of the stories felt too short and lacked that something special to make them stand out. For a few of them, I didn't connect with the writing style at all, and for others, I felt that the characters needed more work to make me care about them.

There was however one story that I just loved. <i>Think of Me</i> grabbed me right from the beginning. Lindsay King-Miller's words create an eerie but somehow beautiful and nostalgic atmosphere. Her plot, however, makes the reader feel regret, fears, and sadness. These two carry the main theme of suicide and its aftermath perfectly. Adding a paranormal twist to it is new and different. I am looking forward to reading more of her work.

Thank you NetGalley and the author(s) & publisher for allowing me to read this book containing their stories for my honest opinion.
I am giving it three stars only because a few of the stories just seemed to drag on and became confusing to me. I lost sight of the plot as well as the characters.
But for the most part I absolutely loved the compilation of erotica /horror stories. It has been such a long time since I have read anything from this genre. Some of my favorite authors were listed in the beginning of the book. I will be reading more from this publisher as well as from some of the authors.

This collection was a bit of fresh air in the sea of doorstop fantasy books I've been reading lately. It was a quick read and entertaining. A guilty pleasure, for sure, but a lot of fun and a nice treat in between longer reads. I really liked the queer take on Great Expectations. I thought that was a good way to start off, and each story was fun in its own way. I'd definitely recommend if you enjoy erotica of the queer variety, and bonus points that all of the stories are withing the realm of horror. It's definitely different, and even if you think it's not for you, it's just different enough that you may enjoy it. I'm glad I picked this one up.

This is my first time reading a book from Riverdale Avenue Books, and I'll definitely be back for more. While there were some minor typos and basic editing errors in the second half of the book, this is definitely worth your time if the description catches your interest.
Andrew Robertson has put together quite a compelling collection of queer, erotic horror stories. I was pleased that not all of the stories had tragic endings, and also pleased that the horror element was pretty prominent thoroughout. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone feeling prudish, because there are definitely some pretty graphic sex scenes. If you're looking for queer flavor in your paranormal erotica, this is definitely the book for you.

This is an anthology of erotic horror stories, each with a LGBTQIA angle. Although, having said that, most of them are either lesbian or gay and not all of them are erotic but that didn’t necessarily detract from the story. As it the case with any anthology, there will be stories that blow you away and others that leave you indifferent. I enjoyed most of these and there were more stand-outs than fall-flats.

Pip and Estella by Valerie Alexander
Wonderfully dark and twisted retake of Great Expectations. Estella is looking for a wealthy husband at her mother's constant urging. Love doesn't matter, only money and power. Mrs Havisham doesn't want the same fate to befall her daughter as it did her. Reclusive and bitter, she only comes out at night and is the worst nightmare for any of the suitors who fall in love with Estella. Great story and I loved the black humour in this.

Goldilocks and Her undead Bear by Julianne Snow
Goldy is a drag queen and her backup singers are Dave, Abe and Gavin. Goldilocks and Her Three Bears play sold out shows in all the downtown drag clubs nearly every night. One night she hears the screams from the audience before she sees the zombies. This one grossed me out a little, but that's the point, isn't it?

Think of Me by Lindsay King-Miller
Written from the point of view of Jess, Sasha's dead wife. Sasha is now with Taylor who loves her and wants to marry but also recognizes Sasha's love and loss of Jess. This is very beautifully written albeit incredibly sad.

Odd Man Out by Derek Clendening
Ben and Patrick are looking for a third in their relationship. Patrick thinks he's found the perfect guy in Mack. But Ben and Patrick are hiding a secret desire. This felt a little flat to me and was missing a sinister undertone which would have made it much darker and tense.

Affliction by Spinster Eskie
Perfectly horrible! This is written from the point of view of an escort who is talking directly to the reader. She's a highly paid prostitute but not for her looks or her sexual prowess, but for her affliction. I love the way this made me wince and my skin crawl.

His Type by Sèphera Girón
Tommy is out with his mates lamenting his poor choices in partners. He seems to choose men who take for a ride and fleece him. Later at a club he sees someone who is his type. This was a little slow to start but picks up pace and interest from about midway.

The Life Model by Jim Towns
Shy, wallflower Tara applies for a position as an artist's model at the local college. She finds being naked in front of strangers oddly freeing and not nearly as frightening as she'd thought. I quite enjoyed reading this one. It's higher on the erotic scale and lower on the horror than most of the other stories so far.

The God Modulation by Kimberly Gondrella
Cassidy and her boyfriend are in a band with Maverick. Cassidy doesn't like Maverick much but Lucien has been his protector since childhood and isn't prepared to ditch him. Maverick wants Lucien, he just needs Lucien to see that. There is no shying away from the horror of this one. Maverick's malevolence is palpable.

Monday by Benjamin Johnson
Stephen, in his last year of high school, warns classmate, Elias, that the other boys are out to get him. Elias offers him something in return. I loved the way this was written and the wonderful descriptions but I felt a little disappointed by the story.

The Dark Gem by Lisi Damette
Jolene Harris limps into the general store having to put up with the 'walked into a door again?' comments from the store keeper. Later, she waits for the return of her husband Barnaby. And waits.
This is a western setting with saloons and brothels. Weirdly, this has been the easiest read so far, and by that I mean that it didn't freak me out.

The Christ of St Jozef Church by Angel Leigh McCoy
Michael, a doctor of economics, is in Tilburg, Netherlands, on the pretense of a conference. He's there for a holy transformation which will require a sacrifice from him. Then he meets Nicholaas.
I was really uncomfortable reading this but also blown away by the unraveling of the story.

Eye Contact by Jeff C Stevenson
Steven was born without a pupil and iris in one eye. It was accepted by his peers when he was younger but high school was a different story. This is a good story but I'm not sure I'd class it as horror.

Broken Lines of Salt and Flesh by Robert E Furey
Dani goes over to her friend, Samantha's, house after she dumps her boyfriend having caught him cheating. Sam is a Wiccan and promises Dani she has some things that will help her. I'm not entirely sure what happened in this story even having read it twice.

The Grave of Lilith by Harry F Rey
Jonathan meets up with Richard in Jerusalem thanks to the introduction of a mutual friend. It's 1982 and Jonathan is there studying biblical archaeology and Richard is an archaeologist. Richard convinces him to go to a dig site which is normally closed to all. I didn't connect with this story or the characters. It took too long to get to the climax with information that didn't seem germane and didn't enhance my involvement in the story.

The God of Small Favours by H P Medina
Jin, Avocet and Jackdaw have made their way by boat to a house they intend to rob. Jin is not happy when he sees the windows open fearing the job will be too easy. In what seems like an abandoned house, the three split up. I thought this was quite a sweet story which is probably not the best reaction for a story in a horror anthology.

Book received from Netgalley and Riverdale Avenue Books for an honest review.

This is probably more of a 2.5 but I found myself skimming a lot after the halfway point so I had to round down. It's really not a bad collection so don't let my low rating turn you off, it just wasn't for me. I know it's entirely my fault because the word erotic is right there in the title, but I found myself getting really annoyed with all the sex in this anthology. Normally it wouldn't really be a problem but there are 15 stories in here and it's only about 160 pages which means every story is only ten pages long [most are probably less since the last two seemed a bit longer]. After you take away 2 or 3 pages to account for the mandatory sex scene, there's really not a ton of time left to fully develop the characters or plot. I absolutely love the idea of a queer horror collection and I'm not even against it being erotica, I just wish the book was longer to allow me more time to get into the stories.