Gay Archives - Matt gets LIT-erary

Hawk Mountain

Hawk Mountain by Conner Habib
Published by Random House on July 21, 2022
Genres: Coming of Age, Fiction, Gay, Psychological, Thrillers, Horror
Pages: 320

I am kicking off spooky book season with a review of the fantastic Hawk Mountain by Conner Habib. This was one of my favorite reads this year. Habib’s debut novel is an emotional and tense queer horror novel with an excellent plot twist and gruesome body horror.

Todd, a single parent, is at the beach with his son Anthony when he runs into a childhood classmate. Jack relentlessly bullied Todd in school, but now he is thrilled to reconnect with Todd. Todd is thrown off because they have not seen each other since they were at odds in their teens. Jack ends up sleeping on Todd’s couch and spending the night. Anthony and Jack quickly hit it off, and Jack continues to sleep over. Todd begins to question Jack’s motives and whether running into each other at the beach was a coincidence. I will share nothing more to avoid spoiling this twisty story.

I loved how dark and tense this story was. The twist about a third of the way into the book made me audibly gasp. This is not the book to de-stress; I was at the edge of my seat. Habib delivers the body horror. There is one horrifically explosive scene that I will never forget. This is a character driven story; you really get into the psyche of Todd. Flashback chapters from Todd and Jack’s childhood are interspersed in the first part of the novel. There are also some sections told from Anthony’s point of view. I was impressed at Habib’s ability to write in a child’s voice. Anthony’s sections are written in a childlike stream of consciousness. The novel concludes with a powerful, emotional ending. This is the first time a horror book brought tears to my eyes.

If you are looking for gay horror novels to read this fall you can’t go wrong with Hawk Mountain. Below are my thoughts on the gay themes in the book. Feel free to stop here to avoid some light spoilers.

Warning Light Spoilers:

Hawk Mountain focuses on toxic masculinity and the internal unrest of closeted gay men. The violence in this book is caused by society’s failure to accept gay men. For me, this book is about how being so deep in the closet can make one project and externalize their self-hatred onto others, with disastrous and extreme consequences. Reading this book, I was heartbroken for closeted people who are unable to openly be themselves, especially queer people from my parent’s generation who grew up in a time when coming out can be met with such oppression.

The House in the Cerulean Sea

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
Published by Tom Doherty Associates on March 17, 2020
Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Gay, Humorous
Pages: 305

This is possibly the most wholesome book I’ve ever read! TJ Klune’s feel good fantasy novel takes place at an orphanage for magical youth on a magical tropical island. This story features a loveable found family and an endearing gay romance. The predictability of the story did not bother me because the characters were so likeable. Save this book for a gloomy day, I guarantee that it will cheer you up!

The protagonist, Linus Baker, is a lonely British man in his 40s. He is a case worker for the Department in Charge of Magical Youth where he travels to different government sanctioned orphanages, housing magical children, to ensure regulations are being followed. Linus is an extremely by the book employee. Because of his consistent track record of impartiality his superiors assign him a special assignment. He is sent to Marsyas Island to see an oversee a classified orphanage. The children housed there include a boy that can turn into a Pomeranian, a wryvn, a gnome, a sprite, an amorphous blob, and Satan’s son. Yes, the antichrist. The orphanage is run by Arthur Parnassus, a quirky middle-aged man who is passionately protective of the children. The children and Arthur end up challenging Linus’s rigid nature. Linus finds himself working less by the book as he becomes more attached to the children and especially Arthur.

The children in this story are so cute! My two favorites were Sal and Chauncey. Sal turns into a Pomeranian whenever he is scared or startled, which leads to many adorable scenes. Chauncey is an amorphous blob with an unknown origin. His dream is to become a hotel bellhop. I hope that one day I’ll have a dream/goal that I’m as passionate for as Chauncey is about the bellhop profession. The charming and humorous style of the Klune’s writing reminded me of a famous TERF’s prose (a.k.a. J.K. Roachling). Klune includes excellent positive themes in the story. My main takeaway is those that are different than society’s norm should not be isolated or hidden away but celebrated and included.

As I mentioned the plot is very predictable. Most readers will likely see the climatic twist a mile away. But the appeal of the book is the wonderful children and Linus’s positive character development. The predictable plot can be overlooked.

Red, White & Royal Blue

Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
Published by St. Martin's Publishing Group on May 14, 2019
Genres: Fiction, Gay, LGBT, Romance
Pages: 432

Red, White & Royal Blue was my biggest reading surprise of the year. I’ve never had any interest in the romance genre, but after seeing Casey McQuiston’s gay rom-com recommended all over Bookstagram and Booktube I decided to give it a try. Less than halfway through the book I was fully invested. My husband had to endure me rambling on about Alex and Henry’s dramatic romance and how amazing the book was. I have discovered a new favorite book.

Alex Claremont-Diaz, first son of the United States, and the UK’s Prince Henry are rivals. After the boys have a messy altercation involving a cake their two families agree to force Alex and Henry to fake a friendship to improve U.S/U.K. relations. However, the enemies become eventual lovers when Alex and Henry find themselves in a secret romance. They both have reasons to keep the relationship a secret. Alex fears the relationship will hurt his mom’s odds at being reelected in the upcoming presidential election. And Henry is not allowed to be out of the closet because his elders believe it would tarnish the royal family’s reputation. But as their feelings grow stronger keeping the relationship a secret becomes more challenging.

My favorite part of the novel was the perfectly written banter between Alex and Henry. Their flirty exchange was written perfectly. The emails they share between each other, including quotes from historically queer characters, are especially cute. Many of Alex and Henry’s friends are fantastic allies. Red, White & Royal Blue is a feel-good, wholesome queer love story. When so much of queer fiction focuses on trauma, stories like this are refreshing.

I appreciated how the story focused on Alex’s professional life, instead of solely his love life. In your 20s every career decision seems critical because your professional life is just beginning. Alex was concerned his relationship with a member of the British royal family would ruin his ambitious goal of becoming an American senator before 30. I related to this strongly. Two years ago, I decided to move out of state with my partner for his doctorate program’s internship. We moved before I was able to secure a new job. I was worried that I was compromising my career for my relationship. Fast forward to today and I am happily married to my best friend and my career is moving in a positive direction. Young professionals have decades of time to develop their careers. We need to normalize making shifts in our career goals. It is freeing when you realize that changes in your professional plans are not failures, especially when they are for the love of your life.

My only (tiny) criticism of the book is I was not sold on the sex scenes. This wasn’t a huge drawback for me. Sex scenes in books are not my favorite. Steamy bedroom scenes are not McQuiston’s strength if literary smut matters to you. I found these scenes to be awkwardly written. The writing was almost muddled. It felt strangely asexual.

Nonetheless, Red, White & Royal Blue was a beautiful book that I can see myself reading again! Alex and Henry’s relationship is brilliantly written. I was glued to the pages as they turned from enemies to lovers. I definitely plan on reading more gay romance books in the future. Please give me some recommendations in the comments!

The Secret Lives of Church Ladies

by Deesha Philyaw
Published by Pushkin Press Genres: African American & Black, Collections & Anthologies, Fiction, Gay, LGBTQ, Short Stories
Format: Paperback

The Secret Lives of Church Ladies is an excellent collection of nine short stories written by Deesha Philyaw. The stories feature black women that are attempting to fulfill desires and passions that are at odds with their Christian beliefs and standards. This National Book Award Finalist is a delight to read and features excellent writing and many queer characters. Readers will meet the daughter of a woman having an affair with a pastor, a mistress’ humorous set of guidelines for her married lovers, and a teenager who has a crush on the preacher’s wife. These stories cover women from multiple generations, sexualities, and relationship statuses. I chose to read this book when I discovered my Deesha Philyaw would be speaking at my favorite bookstore, People Get Ready in New Haven, CT.

My favorite story is Peach Cobbler. This story focuses on a complex mother-daughter relationship. Olivia’s mom is having an affair with the preacher. Her mom cooks peach cobbler for the preacher, but never allows her daughter to enjoy her legendary desert. Olivia decides to replicate her mom’s peach cobbler for herself. Peach cobbler is one of my favorite deserts, so the vivid descriptions of the food in this story had my mouth watering. How to Make Love to a Physicist was a charming romance. The main conflict was not between the protagonist and her love interest. Instead, the conflict revolved around the protagonist learning to love herself. By the time I reached the end of the story in the back of my mind I heard Ru Paul’s legendary words of wisdom: “If you can’t love yourself, how in the hell are you gonna love somebody else?” In Dear Sister the strong bond between the sisters and their different personalities reminded me of my mom and her three sisters. Deesha perfectly captures the loving, yet brutally honest interactions within an adult sisterhood. Deesha’s characters feel authentic and believable, and her writing is a joy to read.

I was so fortunate to hear Deesha Philyaw speak at the Elm City LIT Fest in New Haven, CT this past September. I really enjoyed listening to Deesha describe her writing process and the inspiration behind the stories in the collection. She explained how food played a large role in the stories. Her grandma would never say the words “I love you”, but she’d cook her family delicious food to show love. She highlighted the use of food in her favorite story in the collection, How to Make Love to a Physicist. Deesha wanted to make sure the protagonist’s quest for self-love included cooking whole, non-processed foods. She wanted mother-daughter relationships to be a focus of the collection. Deesha explained how mothers pass down the church’s culture to their daughters, both the good and bad parts. One of my favorite moments was when Deesha told us that envisioned that Olivia from Peach Cobbler grew up to be the serial mistress in Instructions for Married Christian Husbands. When the authors were discussing the process for selecting character names, Deesha explained the biblical significance of Jael’s name, which is key to that story. This was my first time hearing attending a talk by an author and I had so much fun! I appreciated the collection even more after hearing Deesha speak.

I can’t recommend The Secret Lives of Church Ladies enough! I implore you to put this at the top of your TBR immediately! This is one of my favorite reads of the year, and a reminder for me to read more short stories. This cohesive collection has excellent writing and unforgettable characters. I’m looking forward to seeing Tessa Thompson’s adaptation of this anthology on HBO, what a great pairing of artists!

Please check out People Get Ready in New Haven, CT!

Drawing Blood

Drawing Blood by Poppy Brite
Published by Random House Publishing Group on November 24, 2010
Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Gay, Horror, Paranormal
Pages: 416

Do you have a blood fetish? If yes, then I have the perfect book recommendation for you! (Don’t worry having a blood kink is not a prerequisite for enjoying this story) Drawing Blood, by Poppy Z. Brite, is a great, spooky novel featuring queer characters. One night in Missing Mile, North Carolina, Trevor McGee’s father murders Trevor’s mother and little brother before killing himself. Now, as an adult, Trevor is still tortured by the unanswered question: Why did his father let him live on that tragic night? Trevor has followed in his deceased father’s footsteps, working as a cartoonist. Seeking answers from his childhood, Trevor returns to Missing Mile, staying in his family’s abandoned home. Soon after arriving he he meets Zach, a cyber-criminal from New Orleans, who is on the run from authorities. Zach is bisexual and frequently enjoys casual sex but has never formed a deep romantic connection. But upon meeting, the two men quickly form a passionate connection and face the sinister forces that haunt Trevor’s childhood home. I selected this book because I saw it featured on multiple lists for queer horror recommendations. I enjoyed reading Drawing Blood, even if I was caught off guard by all the smut.

Drawing Blood is best classified as a psychological horror novel. Many of the scares and horror scenes involve visions and characters’ internal struggles. The book does a great job of maintaining a dark atmosphere throughout. As I mentioned there is a lot of blood in this book, especially in the sex scenes. The spicy scenes would’ve had me blushing if it wasn’t for all the blood. All the blood made me queasy, but no judgment if you’re into that 😉. I believe the author used blood as a symbol of Trevor’s connection to his father. He has inherited his dad’s artistic talent for drawing, and he fears he will also inherit his dad’s violent, murderous nature. The blood, which is only heavily featured in scenes inside of Trevor’s family home, is a manifestation of the father-son connection. I would not classify this as only a horror novel. The romance and internet crime thriller aspects take up a sizable chunk of the pages. I still really enjoyed the story, but if you are looking for a more purely-horror novel, this might not be the right book for you.

I loved that this book features multiple queer characters. There are more beyond just Zach and Trevor. And while the book has plenty of drama and conflict, none of the adversity characters face relates to their sexuality. While this is probably not realistic for a small town in North Carolina in the ‘90s, it is refreshing to slip into a world where homophobia does not exist. This reminds me of the excellent show Schitt’s Creek (different genre, but I highly recommend). The settings in the novel are very immersive. Brite does an excellent job of describing the settings of New Orleans and Missing Mile. I was not surprised to learn that Poppy Brite lives in New Orleans. Normally I roll my eyes when two characters fall in love at first sight and exchange “I love yous” just days after meeting. But with Trevor and Zach I was not bothered. Beyond my obvious bias for queer relationships, there is great character development for both Trevor and Zach. They help each other become unstuck from their respective struggles, which is very cute and wholesome. While this book was published in 1993 (my birth year!), the writing and story do not feel dated. Descriptions of large cellular phones and the internet, in its early days, were charming.

If you like your scares bloody and mixed with smut you should give this book a try. Reading about LGBTQ characters facing conflicts not related to their queerness is refreshing.

Trigger Warnings: Lots of blood-filled gay sex, Alcoholism, Murder, Recreational Drugs