
Member Reviews

I don't remember anything about this book except that it's a horror book and it was really really really really good. I genuinely hate past me for being the absolute worst at reviews because I have this listed as a favorite on my spreadsheet and I remember the vibes from it and that I absolutely loved it but that's legit it. One day I'm gonna have to reread it so that I can write an actual review that isn't just "vibes and feelings".

Even though Misha Byrne has just been nominated for an Oscar, he’s still at the whim of The Studio he works for to deliver what they want to see in his show. So, while Misha has plans to have his current two tv leads profess their love to each other, the studio is convinced that killing them off instead will deliver higher profits. As Misha fights with the studio to deliver his original vision, weird events and stalker fans begin to happen and appear for Misha. As he starts to investigate the happenings around him, he soon discovers that the stakes are much higher than he originally thought and that accepting his own self-identity might be the first step in beating the odds.
Misha is such a compelling character to get to know and does quite a bit of growing throughout the story. His boyfriend and best friend were also great and overall, I felt all our main characters brought something unique to the story. I loved the way Tingle was able to incorporate real life references and commentary into this ‘fun’ read and was able to touch on some very timely and sensitive topics such as capitalism, identity and AI. I don’t want to spoil anything so won’t go too much deeper than that.
Perfect for fans of campy horror movies and with plenty of gory terror scenes, Bury Your Gays was unexpectedly fun to listen to. While most of the story is narrated directly from Misha’s POV, we get sippets of side events with a full cast of characters. From a narration standpoint it made it hard to delineate them from the story, but if you’re reading the book, this shouldn’t be an issue. Regardless, 4.5 rounded up to 5 stars for this original horror read.
Bury Your Gays is out now. Thank you to Tor Nightfire and MacMillian Audio for my advanced copy in exchange for my review. If you liked this review, please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my
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Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC in audiobook format.
“A spine-tingling horror story and a moving exploration of queer identity, humanity, and storytelling.”
Chuck Tingle’s “Bury Your Gays” is a genre-bending tour de force that defies expectations. Narrated by a talented ensemble cast, including André Santana, Charlie Jane Anders, and others, this audiobook plunges listeners into a Hollywood nightmare where reality and fiction collide.
🔍 Screenwriter Misha Byrne faces an impossible choice: kill off his beloved queer TV characters as demanded by studio executives or defy their algorithmic mandate. Santana captures Misha’s initial anger and escalating terror as he confronts deadly characters from his horror films. But the horror isn’t just external—it’s rooted in Misha’s own fears, from his queer identity to personal attachments within the industry.
The ensemble cast brings depth to Tingle’s satirical sci-fi romp.
Tingle weaves humor, horror, and queer identity into a fast-paced cocktail.
Tingle cements his place as a compelling voice in horror literature.
🎧 Prepare for a rollercoaster ride through Hollywood’s dark corners—a tale that challenges norms and leaves you questioning what’s real. 🌠🎧

Truly phenomenal— another absolute knock-out from my most favorite pink paper-bagged buckaroo. <3
I'm neurodivergent and openly admit that I generally struggle with maintaining my focus when it comes to audiobooks. I almost didn't even request this one as a result, but I'm so glad that my total lack of self-control made me hit that button anyway!
André Santana does a masterful job of bringing Tingle's latest queer horror creation to life. You know how audiobook narrators sometimes just sound like a painfully monotone, bored college professor? Well, I'm delighted to confirm that that isn't the case here. Santana does a brilliant job of portraying the troves of emotion and satirical wit that Bury Your Gays is oozing with. It was fun and theatrical and the absolute best of times. They succeeded in making me actually enjoy an audiobook for the very first time in my 28 years of life, which is something I always feared was impossible. If they don't win an award for narrating this book, then I'll personally make them one myself if I have to because they deserve it.
You'll love this one if:
●You're still furious at Joss Whedon for unjustly killing off Tara back in 2002.
●You're a hardcore Destiel shipper who watched your dream finally become canon, only to have it cruelly ripped away from you like two seconds later. RIP.
●You love laughing! Then being scared! And then laughing again! -Repeat until book is finished.-
●You have impeccable taste & like to have fun!
Thanks so much to Netgalley, Chuck Tingle, & Macmillan Audio for this treat!

Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle
Who here doesn’t know about Chuck Tingle? Author of dinosaur erotica, unwitting target of the Rabid Puppies who turned their own hate against them, he is a neurodivergent pink-masked beacon of hope who preaches that love is love. I excitedly read Camp Damascus, his first traditionally published novel last year, and really enjoyed it! It was a tad rough in spots but the story and the message outweighed any minor issues. So I was very excited when NetGalley and the publisher gave me an ARC of his new book, Bury Your Gays, in audiobook format in exchange for an honest review.
I loved this book! I’m not much of a horror reader, but between T Kingfisher and Chuck Tingle, I am starting to be a big fan! The protagonist of this book is a Hollywood showrunner who is being forced to kill one of his two leads rather than allow them to have a lesbian romance (hence the title). It is set in a near future where an AI generated performance is nominated for best picture. And when the protagonist balks at killing his characters, suddenly characters from some of his prior movies appear in real life and come after him. The details of his young closeted life and issues with coming out are handled deftly and realistically, and makes me wonder what a non-genre character driven work by this author would look like (Im guessing it would be amazing).
The resolution of the horror aspects of the plot did not feel 100% earned to me, but this is a minor quibble in an excellent novel. Highly recommend!

A satirical look at Hollywood through the lens of horror, Bury Your Gays is an incredible effort from Chuck Tingle, weaving vivid imagination, snarky humor, and candid commentary through a tale about an industry striving for success at no cost. Thanks to the snappy writing and showbiz setting, the story feels very 'glitzed-up' and stylish, which is further enhanced in its audiobook via a full cast (incredibly, consists of numerous contemporary horror authors!) and sound effects in the select interludes sprinkled throughout. Tonally, this novel is reminiscent of the film The Neon Demon by Nicolas Winding Refn, a visual feast of a horror film about the modeling industry.
Similar to Camp Damascus, the horror element of Bury Your Gays takes a turn towards its third act, but this time around its genre-blending is less jarring, and better incorporated within its context. All in all, Bury Your Gays is a relentlessly layered story that should satisfy fans of horror (many elements from its sub-genres make their appearances), pop culture enthusiasts, and readers who love a good story with heart.

I just finished Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle and here are my thoughts.
Misha should be on cloud nine. He has an oscar nomination under his belt and his long time running show has excellent ratings. The studio wants him to do one teeny tiny thing… Kill off the gay characters in the season finale.
As a gay man half in the closet, he can’t bring himself to do it. When he tells the studio no, that should be the end of it right? Except now, his written creations for the screen, are coming to life and if they follow their personas in the real world… He has 5 days before he dies. No matter where he goes, they are right there, stalking him.
Haunted by a past he wanted to forget, he must figure out how this is happening and how to save his career and his life.
When I read the synopsis of the book I was like huh…. Wasn’t giving away much of what the book was about but it was in the horror genre and I love horror so I thought, why the heck not…. I am so glad I did.
It is heavy on the LGBTQ rep so if that isn’t something you like, you may wanna give it a miss. I found it actually elevated the story because you can see how Misha ended up writing the things he wrote and why he became as closed off as he did. I know some people get weird about books that lean heavily in but I think this book really did an excellent job of balancing it out.
I loved that we got a glimpse of Misha’s past and it explains how his experiences helped him write the characters that are now alive and stalking him. I thought it added some real depth to the story.
Narrator was great. I felt really invested in the book and I loved the creepy undertones that are weaved within the story.
It’s not a long book so I finished the audio in a morning but it was so well done and I was blown away with the clever dialogue and epic storytelling.
I am a fan! I’m not gonna lie, I need more books like this.
4.5 stars
Thank you to @netgalley and @macmillanaudio for my gifted alc
Out now and well worth it (I mean come on! The cover alone did it for me)
#buryyourgays #chucktingle #horror #lgbtqrep #gayreads #booklover #audiobook #audiobooklover #audiobookreview #bookalorian #bookblog

Very entertaining and well done. Great commentary on Hollywood and capitalism, as well as queer characters in the movie industry. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced audiobook!

Wow!! I’ll be honest - I had absolutely no idea what I was in for when I picked up Bury Your Gays as an ALC. But, holy smokes…campy horror is a new favorite of mine! Tackling issues that artists & creatives are facing such as artificial intelligence, lack of diversity in media and evil corporate overloads - Bury Your Gays is a horrifyingly wonderful read!
This was my first time reading a book by Chuck Tingle but it most certainly won’t be the last!
Method read: 🎧
The full cast narration was absolutely phenomenal!
Thank you so much Macmillan Audio for the ALC!

I was screaming the entire time. The book was creepy in the first half, and then intriguing and then I was enraged and then when I thought it was over it wasnt? Truly a great time. The novel somehow is able to to tell a horror story bursting with queer joy, and a robust critique surrounding corporations and by extension AI art within actual art. Overall a brilliantly executed book.

𝐇𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫? 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤.
𝐒𝐜𝐢-𝐅𝐢? 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤.
𝐋𝐆𝐁𝐓𝐐+? 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤.
𝐅𝐞𝐞𝐥-𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐯𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐬? 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤.
𝐒𝐮𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞/𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫? 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤.
𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞? 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤.
𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲? 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤.
𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞-𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐳𝐞𝐫𝐨 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐭. 𝐅𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐡𝐮𝐜𝐤 𝐏𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐮𝐤 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐣𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝑩𝒖𝒓𝒚 𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝑮𝒂𝒚𝒔.
𝒯𝒽𝒶𝓃𝓀 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝑜 𝒞𝒽𝓊𝒸𝓀 𝒯𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓁𝑒, 𝑀𝒶𝒸𝓂𝒾𝓁𝓁𝒶𝓃 𝒜𝓊𝒹𝒾𝑜, & 𝒩𝑒𝓉𝒢𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓎 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒜𝑅𝒞! 𝒜𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝓅𝒾𝓃𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓂𝓎 𝑜𝓌𝓃.

Could not put this one down.. Highly recommend.
Thank you to NetGalley aan the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Such a fun read. Very calculated and well written. I couldn’t put it down. I absolutely loved it! Thanks NetGallery!

This audiobook was extremely well done, and I loved the forecast of popular authors as narrators.
Full disclosure TJ Klune is a problematic author who used the suffering of indigenous peoples to write a as a cozy fantasy book and therefore I do not support TJ Klune and I completely skipped over his portions in this audiobook. All of my review and all of my thoughts on this book do not include TJ Klune as I do not and never will support him or anything he does.
The premise of this book was absolutely fantastic. I enjoyed it immensely. I did not expect the story that I got when I started to listen to the novel, but it was absolutely something well worth diving into.
I really enjoyed the exploration of queer Hollywood and how absolutely limit it is for writers. I had no idea of the challenges they faced in any kind of detailed way. But I feel like I have a better understanding of some of their struggles now that I've read this book. I thought the sci-fi type quality that surrounded this horror novel was an absolutely interesting way of being done and I really hope to read more novels that encompass this kind of theme in the future.

This is my second Chuck Tingle horror book. It took me a while to get into, but I really enjoyed this book! I think this will be a great addition to the library for those looking for a more unique horror story.

I've never read this author before and I tried and tried again to get through this book, but I could not finish it. It just did not interest me at all.

I wanted to love this, but I didn't. which is unfortunate because I want to support the author and the overall message. I simply can't handle the quality of the writing, though. I'm going to will my head against a wall if I have to read, "my boyfriend" one more time. Please check it out for yourself, but the prose just killed it for me.

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC for early review.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.
3.5/5 stars. This is my first horror novel from Tingle, though I am a big fan of his romance and fantasy works. While I can definitely attest that this is a great novel and well-written, I unfortunately didn't have as much fun with it as I was hoping.
First thing's first, this is definitely one for the Supernatural girlies who lived through Destiel Is Canon But Only In Spanish and The Car Went to Heaven but Castiel Went to Super Hell for Being Gay. The main character's name is even Misha, how's that for coincidence. This is very clearly a critique of the common trope of "bury your gays," wherein a studio, a publisher, or any kind of media company puts out a canonically queer bombshell, only to immediately turn around and kill those queer characters. It is a "having your cake and eating it too" situation, where companies get to claim they are diverse and supportive while also not having to deal with the fallout of featuring or continuing to feature queer characters in a positive light. And as a former fan of Supernatural, I'm very familiar with the Bury Your Gays trope, as well as queerbaiting to attract or keep an audience.
Other than being a critique of the industries who utilize queerness to suit their own goals, this is a somewhat goofy, somewhat lighthearted horror novel where shit gets serious really fast at certain points. There's a strong level of gore, some triggering scenes, and an endless feeling of sliminess that comes from the execs and higher ups of the company. I think everyone who is queer knows what it's like to be utilized to serve some kind of message or goal by others.
The characters themselves aren't super appealing to me, but Misha, Zeke, and Tara work fine as horror protagonists, especially Tara, who has been preparing for the technology apocalypse since birth. The antagonists are a bit flimsy, in my opinion, but they're serving one big overarching goal, so it works out in the end.
I think my main issue and where I fell off on this one is that the heart of the conflict and the big reveal came at basically halfway through the story, and I was a bit bored for the second half because of that. The concept itself is very sci-fi or anti-sci-fi, however you'd like to look at it.
A really well done book, that just didn't quite hit the spot for me, but I appreciate this as a mainstream work of fiction and the big "fuck you" and middle finger towards commodifying queerness and queer tragedy.
Audio performances were all very good and I always enjoy a full cast narration. I hope future Tingle books continue the trend.

Entertaining and irreverent, with excellent narration. A recommended purchase for collections where offbeat horror is popular.

"Bury Your Gays" by Chuck Tingle is a very interesting and extremely well written book. It starts out very realistic and turns into a classic horror. I didn't expect it. Then there is a twist that explains it all, and it becomes even more scary! It is fantastic!
Misha is the main character of this book. He is a horror screenwriter, and he is pressured by the studio to kill off his gay lead characters in the finale of his popular series. He is a semi-closeted gay man, and he's loathe to kill these characters off. He refuses and gets pressured. Then people dressed and acting like horror characters from his past movies start to stalk him. It is very weird, and it gets gory, but there are humorous parts as well, and it all makes sense. The ending is a satisfying conclusion.
The audiobook has a full cast of narrators, and this is excellently done!
I highly recommend this book!!
Characters - 5/5
Writing - 5/5
Plot - 5/5
Pacing - 5/5
Unputdownability - 5/5
Enjoyment - 5/5
Narration - 5/5
Cover - 5/5
Overall - 40/8 = 5
Thank you from Netgalley, Macmillan Audio, and Chuck Tingle for providing this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.