Book Description 

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.

My Review 

I was initially attracted to this book by the comparison to Red, White & Royal Blue and I’m not really seeing it. Yes, Joe clashes with his ferryman, but the focus of the novel is not really the romance. There is so much more going on than Joe finding (and keeping) a boyfriend. 

Joe has high hopes for his Fire Island summer after Ronnie hypes up how much fun they are going to have together. Needless to say, Ronnie’s promises don’t come to fruition, which is why Joe moves in with Howie and Lenny. 

The summer unfolds mostly from Joe’s perspective, but there are a couple of other POVs as well. It’s certainly a wild summer, although it’s impossible to ignore the effects of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. While Joe is a sweet protagonist who has been through a lot and is trying to move on with the rest of his life, his biggest opponent is clearly himself. He keeps gettin in his own way, and it became almost tiresome at times. The secondary characters are often much more interesting, and I personally had a soft spot in my heart for Ronnie, who was an eternal optimist, even when it was obvious that he was making bad decisions. 

I would absolutely recommend Disco Witches of Fire Island. It’s a queer fantasy with elements of romance and memorable characters. I don’t want to diminish the power of the written word, but I would love to see this book turned into a movie or a limited series– the costumes, the MUSIC– it would be wild! 

I received a digital ARC of this book from Alcove Press/NetGalley.