Disco Witches of Fire Island: A Novel

I wasn’t sure about this one, but I was happily surprised. A novel that leans into stereotypes of gay culture, but builds out all those characters into complicated beings who surpass those stereotypes. Full of whimsy, but capturing grief and all the fear that existed during the height of the AIDS epidemic, this novel weaves together an engaging fantasy rooted in a real bit of history.

The hero does get a little annoying… I struggle with self-involved characters, but the overall story and the spectrum of personalities kept me engaged.

I visited Fire Island in June of 1998 for five days. It is a magical place. It was a complex experience. I stayed as a guest in a large home near the dunes. I had the downstairs floor to myself and it opened on to the home’s private pool. In the evenings, men would go off to the Meat Rack, which was a wooded area that gay men use for cruising. I chose not to accompany them as I was fully aware of the health status of those going, and it just doesn’t seem sexy to me to risk my life in that way, with the added annoyance of inconvenient surroundings … sand, dirt, a lack of light… just didn’t seem sensible. So for me those five days were a bit lonely. I don’t have sufficient melanin for days at the beach. But a shaded deck alongside a pool, warm gentle winds… a few good books… and some occasional hooking up with a housemate ;)… it was a pleasant few days. Fire Island is a unique place and this book captures its joys.

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USA TODAY BESTSELLER!

“Heartfelt.”—The New York Times

Hit the dance floor with a coven of queer witches on 1980s Fire Island in this gay fantasy romance about finding magic, love, and family in the face of tragedy.

A heartwarming LGBTQ+ novel for fans of steamy romance, loathe-at-first-sight, and Red, White, and Royal Blue.

The paperback edition will have sprayed teal edges and foil on the cover!

It’s 1989, and Joe Agabian and his best friend Ronnie set out to spend their first summer working in the hedonistic gay paradise of Fire Island Pines. Joe is desperate to let loose and finally move beyond the heartbreak of having lost his boyfriend to the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

The two friends are quickly taken in by a pair of quirky, older house cleaners. But something seems off, and Joe starts to suspect the two older men of being up to something otherworldly. In truth, Howie and Lenny are members of a secret disco witch coven tasked with protecting the island—and young men like Joe—from the relentless tragedies ravaging their community. The only problem is, having lost too many of their fellow witches to the epidemic, the coven’s protective powers have been seriously damaged.

Unaware of all the mystical shenanigans going on, Joe starts to fall for the super-cute bisexual ferryman who just happens to have webbed feet and an unusual ability to hold his breath underwater. But Joe’s longing to find love is tripped up by his own troublesome past as well as the lure of a mysterious hunk he keeps seeing around the island—a man Howie and Lenny warn may be a harbinger of impending doom.

The Disco Witches need to find help—fast—if they’re to save Joe and the island from the Great Darkness. But how? Fans of spicy queer romances with a dash of fantasy will fall in love with this stunning novel of community, love, sex, magic, and hope in desperate times.

The Purple Fantastic Steam rating gives this a 4 out of 5. It gets pretty steamy at times, but ALWAYS in context of plot and character. I never found it to be excessive, but it does not dance around the sexy bits. You can read more about the Steam Ratings on the About Page.