REVIEW: Blood, Sweat & Queers: Vampiric Love Stories

 

CRACK OPEN THE COFFIN AND UNLEASH THE VAMPIRE.

An ancient beast stirs in the shale beneath an oil rig. Lovers languish in a lakeside cottage. A man swipes right, hunting flesh with a predator’s patience. A woman reels from government-sanctioned body horrors.

All queer. All ravenous. All relentless.

Vampires have always been vessels of longing, craving not only blood, but sex, power, and the sanctity of the taboo. And what hunger is more righteously denied, more persistently policed, than queer love? Like the vampire, the queer spirit endures, unkillable and unashamed.

With a foreword by vampire scholar Margaret Hall, Blood, Sweat & Queers presents decadent tales of queer love from eight LGBTQ+ authors, all intertwined with the eternal allure of the vampire— stories of desire unbound, of passion unending, and hunger that threatens to consume everything in its path. Crack open the coffin, if you dare.

 

THE FACTS

📕Gloriously diverse

📗All the best things in a short story collection: horror, love, fear, confusion! Everything!

📘Well curated collection

 

THE REVIEW

I originally picked up this collection because one of my favourite authors had a story in it but I’m so thrilled to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the entire collection. It’s clear that the editors have put a lot of work and love into this collection. This is a varied, engaging, and completely entertaining selection of tales! I’ve never read anything quite like these stories and I enjoyed every one of them. This is a true exploration of the genre and vampires in general; original and creative.

This collection has vampires who are struggling with loss, creatures emerging from the depths of the ocean, vampires in love, vampires confused by love, varied mythical creatures. There really is a marvellously broad exploration of vampirism.

The best part is that the queerness of these stories is so natural and effortless. This isn’t token diversity; it’s a glorious celebration of what makes the queer community what it is… endless variations and wonderful variety! Love is love folks, and this is the perfect collection to illustrate that. As a member of the community, I am so proud and thankful that a collection like this exists!

Thank you to the authors and the editors for all their work and sharing their art.

THE LINKS

🖊 Publisher

I purchased a copy of  Blood, Sweat & Queers and this is an unbiased review.

 

 

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