Sometimes I don't get into anthologies, because the descriptions on them don't always show what some of the stories about, causing me to miss out on a great short story, but I'm glad I picked up this one. It has a great range of stories and was a pleasure to read.

"Night of the Living Queers" is a YA horror anthology where each story is written by a queer author of color and each is set on Halloween during a blue moon. I read this right around Halloween, so it was a fun way to get in the spirit.

There were a few really spectacular stories, but unfortunately I found many to be disappointing. More often than not, the stories themselves were fine but the ending either confused me, bored me, or wrapped up way too easily. I also found that a number of these stories were a little cheesy and didn't deliver on the Halloween creep-factor I'd been hoping for, though this may just be a consequence of having aged out of the YA demographic. Still, there were a few absolute gems, and it was an overall fun reading experience because I love queer horror.

This is not to say that I only liked these stories, but here are the ones I thought were unforgettable:
"The Visitor" by Kalynn Bayron
"Nine Stops" by Trang Thanh Tran (The scariest one, hands down. This was so unsettling in the best way. I've already started reading Tran's debut novel because of it!)
"In You to Burn" by Em X Liu
"Hey There, Demons" by Tara Sim (The cutest and funniest one, imo)

I always struggle with anthologies because I’m a very big synopsis reader and get confused when I don’t know the general idea of the story lol but I really did enjoy a lot of these stories! They were very unsettling and kept me reading and on the edge of my seat!!

A great range of spooky stories, the perfect halloween treat. Loved the rep.I'll be recommending this one.

LOVE THIS! These anthologies are some of my favorite reads because you get exposed to so many new authors so fast!

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review.

These short stories were so well done I could not stop telling my friends about them. I went and bought a copy when they came out.

I absolutely enjoyed this anthology!
Each story was unique in it's own way - with some stories being on the scarier side, some more funny and others a combination.
I definitely enjoy this because the stories do not intertwine, and each brings something different. If you are into short stories and want something different out of each story, I highly recommend this book.

https://lesbrary.com/sapphic-ya-horror-books/

In this YA horror anthology, authors explore a night when anything is possible under the blue moon: Halloween. Featuring queer characters of colour written by queer authors of color, this collection puts some fresh spins on classic horror tropes and tales. The stories are told through the lens of different BIPOC teens, including many sapphic main characters, as they experience the night that changes their lives forever.

This is perfect for people who are still discovering horror and looking to figure out which subgenres they find most entertaining, which messages speak most personally to them, and which themes they’d like to explore further. The anthology touches on a whole plethora of topics such as grief, guilt, race, gender identity, and complex family dynamics, and it features a wide array of subgenres including paranormal horror, monster horror, body horror, and horror comedy.

Content warnings: body horror, gore, blood, suicidal ideation, animal cruelty, death, child death, death of a parent, homophobia, transphobia, violence, racism, grief, blood, bullying, abandonment, mentions of substance abuse, alcohol addiction and drug overdose.

This book was such an amazing collection of stories form so many authors that we know and love (and some that might even be new to us).

Each story really gives to the atmosphere of the season! In some anthologies, you find that some of the authors and stories are stronger, more developed, or more substantial than the rest. This was not the case for this anthology. Each author brought their A game and created a fun book that is a great addition to the LGBTQ literature out there.

The first two stories were decent but nothing special and didn't quite give me the creepy vibe I was looking for. There were also a couple stories in the second person point of view which I am really not a fan of. Other than that there were some REALLY good stories in this collection. Over all I would definitely recommend it to others. Any time you have an anthology with multiple authors you are likely going to get a mixed bag and you will enjoy some over others but I'd say in this case the good outweighs the bad.

“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒖𝒏𝒖𝒔𝒖𝒂𝒍 𝒎𝒐𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒃𝒍𝒖𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒆𝒓. 𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒓. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒐𝒇𝒇. 𝑨𝒔 𝒊𝒇 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒏 𝒐𝒍𝒅, 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒐𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝒇𝒊𝒍𝒎 𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚.”

This YA horror anthology that features queer authors of colour sounded like a perfect read in the days leading up to Halloween.

Anthologies can be hit or miss sometimes, as you are not always going to connect with each author or story equally. Overall, there was lots to like about this collection. The thread tying these stories together is each features a queer character of colour on Halloween night during a blue moon, a rare feat. The blue moon in each story makes everything feel different, reflecting how the characters themselves feel different. They are all generally spooky stories, filled with ghosts and the unknown. A few stories stood out to me, in particular. The drive-in theatre setting of “A Brief Intermission” with visiting ghosts felt like watching an old black and white classic horror movie. “Leyla Mendoza and the Last House on the Lane” is a powerful story less about scares and more about belonging and finding hope. “Rocky Road with Caramel Drizzle” is an emotional story of being robbed of safety in your own skin, with proof that humans are scarier than anything beyond the grave. Finally, “Hey There, Demons” was a super fun tale of poltergeists, demons, and siblings. I loved the main characters Noah and Kody! The downside to a short story collection is that there are elements that I wish were explored a little bit further or sometimes they end in a way needs a little more explanation.

Night Of The Living Queers is an anthology about confronting ugly truths, challenging perceptions, of love, loss, acceptance, and bravery. It’s a vast and inclusive collection perfect for spooky season and I think will mean a lot to teens. Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the ARC!

I always find it difficult to provide a rating for an anthology.

It just seems wildly unrealistic to expect to connect with every single story from over a dozen different authors, all with completely different styles and perspectives.

So I’m taking a cue from some of my anthology aware bookish friends: if an anthology has a handful of stories that speak to me and that I would recommend to other readers, then that’s a win.

And with that criteria in mind, “Night of the Living Queers” was a win for me.

“Night of the Living Queers” is a timely collection of scary stories all written by BIPOC authors, and tied together with the same Halloween full moon.

How witchy and celestial.

Not every story works for me, but I was especially blown away by Kalynn Bayron’s vampiric tearjerker “The Visitor” and Kosoko Jackson’s emotionally raw “Rocky Road with Caramel Drizzle.”

Perfection! Seriously, what a wonderful selection of authors. This is a perfect spooky season read. LGBTQIA+ and anthologies are super popular with my readers, so I’m really excited to book talk this!

- thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an arc to review!

- a collection of queer horror that is deep, dark, and eerie for the Halloween season. with a wonderful taste in authors, this collection allows you to be immersed in the horror, the thrills, and the eerie stories that will leave you wanting more.

3 stars

I am not a huge horror reader nor am I much of a short story reader, that said I enjoyed a number of stories in this collection. I found it really cool and a little creepy that all these stories took place on the same halloween night.

My favorite was Hey There, Demons by Tara Sim. This was the first thing I've read by Tara, and I am looking foward to picking up more of their work in the future. It made me feel some type of way and I wish that there was more to the story.

My least favorite was Knickknack by Ryan Douglass but that is because I hate clowns.

Thank you Netgalley and Wednesday books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I think this is a really good anthology! Some of the stories were amazing and some weren't that great, which I think just happens when you read a short story collection by lots of different authors. I really appreciated the trigger warnings on some of these, and I did have to skip a couple because some of these are really heavy.

Night of the Living Queers by multiple authors is such a fun and freaky anthology of horror stories with a BIPOC queer twist. The stories were all so much fun to read and I loved seeing a different side of some of my favorite authors like Kalynn Bayron and Tara Sim. The Visitor and Anna were my favorite tales but I enjoyed all of them. If you're looking for something creepy and queer, this book is a winner!

Loved all these scary stories with queer protagonists. Each and every story was well written, some suspenseful, some outright creepy, but overall, a spooky delight to read in October!! Some urban legends , some mythos, some nightmarish folk tales, every one prepared to haunt your socks off.

This was a fun anthology all about spooky and horror taking place under the light of a blue moon. There were some stories that I really enjoyed like the story of the Guests and the story of the video that you MUST watch to the end (talk about bone chilling) but I think my favorite was the story of a boy summoning a demon and ending up something more (what can I say, I’m a sucker for romance even with spookiness).

I will say there were several stories I skipped because I wasn’t vibing with the writing and I greatly appreciated the trigger warning for one of the stories which I subsequently skipped.

Overall a good anthology with some fun stories intermixed!

This is one of the better anthologies I have read. I'm very picky about anthologies. I enjoyed The Visitor by Kalynn Bayron and it made me more excited to read Bayron's thriller that came out recently.
Rocky Road with Caramel Drizzle by Kosoko Jackson was rougher than I anticipated! A revenge story that will stay with me. Jackson really is a talented writer. If you love anthologies, spooky season, and are looking for a queer rec, check this one out.