Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this eARC.

Night of the Living Queers is a short story horror anthology which follows several BIPOC teens on the same spooky Halloween night.

This was an exceptional anthology featuring exceptional writers. Each story was deliciously spooky, with all manner of frights represented. It was also so much fun getting to read about queer and BIPOC teens, who are often not featured or centered in the horror genre. Due to the nature of the book, I did feel like some of the stories ended rather abruptly, but overall I thoroughly enjoyed myself, and I will definitely be revisiting this read when spooky season is in full swing.

I knew this anthology was going to be a treat. Ever find yourself scrolling reddit forums, asking people on IG and watching Booktok, craving for that perfect book "set during Halloween?" Look no further, Night of the Living Queers checks all of the boxes.

Short and jam packed with spooks, chills and even some warm hearted moments. This book is perfect for spooky season and even better that it supports the LGBTQ community. I absolutely loved the variety in this anthology. I suggest adding this one to your seasonal halloween reads.

Thank you NetGalley and Wednesday Books for an advanced copy of THE NIGHT OF THE LIVING QUEERS. This anthology of YA BIPOC and LGBTQ+ horror short stories had a lot of promise—some of the stories lived up to it better than others, at least for me. The collection felt a little uneven in that regard. My biggest issue with some of the stories is that they didn't resolve in a way that made sense with the rest of the story—it didn't fit the tone or even connect clearly with how the beginning was set up. Some of the endings just weren't very satisfying—which had nothing to do with whether they were happy or sad, just that they didn't feel earned or like they came together in a cohesive way.
The best part about the whole thing was the unabashed queer joy, even when the stories were, well, horrible. The representation was great to read. My favorite short story out of all of them was probably "A Brief Intermission" by Sara Farizan. The true horror of that story, outside of the actual ghosts, was how the white, patriarchal status quo is trying to squash down anyone that is different, or outside of the norm they've established. I just thought that was well-done and timely—it made the ending full of very real dread.
All in all, I had mixed feelings about the anthology as a whole, but also I love that it exists.

This was a really interesting concept, taking 13 spooky queer stories all centering around the idea of the blue moon. My favorite out of all the stories was Leyla Mendoza and the Last House on the Lane.

These short stories brought everything you look for in spooky and scary stories and a whole lot more. I enjoyed that each of these stories featured queer characters and many different cultures were represented.

My only qualm was I found it really hard to get invested in the story because of how little time there was to develop, but if you are looking for a quick short read with lot of variety this is the book for you.

This was an incredibly fun anthology. Some of the stories are more fun than creepy, while others genuinely unsettled me. None were too scary though, which I was happy with because I'm a scaredy cat. There's a wide variety of spooks, and different stories. I also had ratings all across the scale (although no 1 star, so nothing I hated) but overall I had a really fun time reading this. Definitely a big rec for the spooky season.

Ya short stories with queer centered inside it. I loved the concept. A few stories felt like they were unresolved. Overall a great read.

Imgur link goes to Instagram graphic scheduled for Aug 22
Blog Post will also go live Aug 22
Youtube Arc Review scheduled for August 18th/22nd


Night the Living Queers is a mostly fun leaning collection of horror stories with a mix of dark and light endings. I enjoyed nearly all of these, finding some to lean more into the ‘campy’ side of horror, and a few had a surprisingly dark ending I enjoyed. A few did throw me out and make me incredibly uncomfortable though, the reason for the loss of a star on the 1 to 5 scale.

The only big issue I had were the two specific stories I remember throwing me out. One focused heavily on the survivor of a Hate Crime which we see *on page*. Unfortunately this is not warned or noted for the reader in any way. In addition, the tone of the stories proceeding this story was almost entirely light and funny with a few dark but campy ones. So the abrupt switch to something this heavy was upsetting. The lack of trigger warnings was not a HUGE issue, though I genuinely wish they’d been included, what confuses me is that a later story does in fact include those warnings. Why just one? Was it up to author preference? Did the editing team not see them necessary? Or is it simply that the ARC I recieved hadn’t fully been updated? Either way I feel this should have been explained because I was incredibly confused by these, especially after how dark and vivid the story of the hate crime was.

On the whole I enjoyed this, besides my issues with the warnings or lack thereof. Please do be careful as not all of these stories are as enjoyable as others, as mentioned above, but for the most part they are fun. A collection I enjoyed - 4 out of 5 stars.

A collection of YA horror stories that all have a queer spin. Like any story collection, you’ll like more than others. My biggest problem with some is that I was left confused about exactly what had happened. But I think that’s mostly because of the constraints of a short story.

Though I did like some stories more than others, I still thought this was a great collection of stories to read . This book has all the makings for a spooky night of story telling with friends, family, or alone.
This book offers vampires, haunted movie drive in , haunted house, creepy clown, haunted mall, reasons not to go into the attic, and so much more.
I always love a way to be introduced to authors I may not have read previously . Also there are some content warnings to be aware of :
Suicidal Ideation and talk of alcohol and drug addiction .

As you can tell from the title , each story does offer LGBTQ representation. Also I will say one story was heavier than the rest in my opinion . Over all this book offers you plenty spooky stories that all take place on Halloween .


All opinions are honest and my own. Thank you Netgalley and St.Martins Press/ Wednesday books ,for the this arc.

Arc provided by Net Galley. I thought it was a wonderful mix of stories and thought it was really cool they were all centered around the same night! It was a good mix of stories and I liked that they weren’t all the same!

HOW IS THIS SINGLE HANDILY ONE OF THE BEST THINGS I'VE EVER READ? Seriously, I'm obsessed. With every spooky story.

I enjoyed the spooky stories with LQBTQ characters! It didn't feel like it revolved around their relationships but still provided representation which is particularly necessary for the community as there's not many spooky stories with representation!

I may be a grown man, but I still enjoy reading YA from time to time. This book has a lot going for it: queer representation across the spectrum, BIPOC characters, and Halloween. Sign me up!

Overall, I would say I enjoyed this collection. As with most short story collections, some were hits while others missed entirely. There were a few really solid pieces here, but sadly not as many as I was hoping. The YA category covers a wide range of ages, making it difficult to recommend books as some are more appropriate for the 13-year-old crowd while others are better suited for an older audience.

This collection seemed to cover all ages in the YA demographic. In some stories the characters cursed and drank alcohol. In others, the dialogue seemed, honestly, rather juvenile. Juvenile dialogue isn't a criticism, I say that more so to highlight the disparity between the stories. A few stories actually had a chilling factor to them, while some would make for a great Nickelodeon adaptation. All that to say the tone throughout was inconsistent.

"Guested" and "Rocky Road with Caramel Drizzle" were the two standout stories for me. Neither was perfect, but I was wholly engaged reading them back-to-back. With more fleshing out, both could make for solid full-length novels.

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.

Thank you Netgalley for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
3.5*
A fun mix of diverse, lgbtqia horror stories. The perfect book to read for those who love Halloween.

Like most short story anthologies, this contains a mix of stories--and therefore not every one will be a hit. Some which might resonate with readers more than others. The good thing about this anthology is that there really is a wide range of Halloween related stories. From classic monster horror, to modern gore, to campy, light-hearted stories--this collection hits different aspects of Halloween. That being said, if you are looking for a collection of just pure horror, this might not be for you. Most of the stories lean more towards classic Halloween/spooky--not quite with the goal of just being scary. Like there is a difference between stories about/during Halloween and Horror stories--this had more of the former. But if you do want that wide mix, this is perfect.

Personally, I felt all of the stories were well-written and hit the theme perfectly. Not all of them fit my taste, but none of them were badly executed. My only consistent complaint is I wish they all could have been longer (hard to do for an anthology, I know). Some really could have used a few more pages to flesh out the ideas, others I just wanted more from because I was enjoying the story so much.

Some of my favorites were:
1. A Brief Intermission by Sara Farizan--horror at the drive-in. This one had a great atmosphere, and did a pretty solid job telling a complete story in it's limited space. Maybe the most clearly 'short story' of the bunch--meaning it felt the most designed to be a short story.
2. The Three Phases of Ghost Hunting by Alex Brown--ghosts, podcasts, and the mall. This one was just pure fun Halloween vibes. Definitely needed to be longer, but still very fun.
3. Leyla Mendoza and the Last House on the Lane--that one house at the end of the street, and also wizards?. This was the least horror of all of them--and arguably the least Halloween, but it was so beautifully written and conveyed the pain of our narrator so well.
4. Hey There, Demons by Tara Sim--poltergeists, demons, parties. Cute, fun, desperately wish it could be a full novel.
5. Save Me from Myself by Ayida Shonibar--ouch. This one was pretty heavy, very well-written but deals with difficult topics.
6.Knickknack by Ryan Douglass--clowns. just, clowns. This one also needed to be longer, but it was oddly funny give the whole--evil clown thing.

Overall, this is a fun, diverse anthology perfect for lovers of all things Halloween. It is always wonderful to see lgbtqia characters in genre fiction, and this collection provides a wide vary of stories from different perspectives. If you want to get into the October vibe, check this book out!

--Teen Librarian

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for inviting me to read this book.

I had some expectations coming into reading this anthology. I liked that each story takes place on a Halloween blue moon which tied the stories together.

I did enjoy about half the stories mostly because they leaned more toward the spooky side of horror. If the rest of the stories followed, I may have enjoyed them more.

The stories that I felt were a little weak had really good concepts but fell through with execution.

Overall, it felt like a mixed bag.

This was such a fun read. I am a BIG Halloween girl, so I am always in the mood for anything that's going to make the Halloween season feel a little bit closer, and this did not disappoint. Each story was uniquely unsettling. My only gripe is wishing that the stories were a little bit longer, so I could stay in the spooky little universes that the authors created for a little bit longer. Overall, if you're looking to feel Halloween vibes a little earlier this year, I definitely suggest picking this one up.

This collection of stories was so damn good. My little queer heart was so happy reading each and every story in the book.

i loved this anthology full of qpoc stories of horror! horror is not a genre i tend to read often, but i had read and enjoyed some of the contributing authors' works before and i loved that the anthology was focused on qpoc stories so i decided to give it a try and it did not disappoint. i rated each story:
welcome to the hotel paranoia by vanessa montalban - 3.75/5
the visitor by kalynn bayron - 4/5
a brief intermission by sara farizan - 3/5
guested by rebecca kim wells - 4.5/5
rocky road with caramel drizzle by kosoko jackson - 4/5
the three phases of ghost hunting by alex brown - 4/5
nine stops by trang thanh tran - 4/5
leyla mendoza and the last house by maya gittelman - 4.25/5
in you to burn by em x. liu - 4.5/5
anna by shelly page - 4/5
hey there, demons by tara sim - 4.5/5
save me from myself by ayida shonibar - 4/5
knickknack by ryan douglass - 3.75/5
all those ratings come out to be an average of 4.0, i really enjoyed this anthology overall!
thank you to the publisher wednesday books and netgalley for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Like all anthologies, this book had some stories I loved more than others, but overall I enjoyed each story and how they worked together as a whole and balanced each other.

I really appreciated the variety of angles the authors took to the general theme and the horror genre in general, and that there was lots of variety of QPOC rep. Some stories were more straight forward horror, some put queerness directly in the centre stage rather than a subplot, some were funny and goofy, and some were genuinely heartfelt and moving. Overall, there is something for every reader here and I would definitely recommend.