(3.5 stars rounded up) At it's core, this is a queer found family story with magic. It is a blend of romance, fantasy, and history. There are a good amount of interesting concepts thrown in and the nostalgia is real, but it doesn't always hit the mark. Some info dumps make certain parts drag on and throw off the pacing. In the end, I think there is more to like than dislike, but I do wish it was a bit more polished.

This one... was a struggle. The writing style wasn't particularly compelling to me, but I was intrigued by the concept and loved the idea of diving into the world of late 80s Fire Island and the aids crisis, esp. with promised sprinkles of fantasy elements so I pushed through reading it despite wanting to DNF a few times.

Overall, this is a case of potentially fun concept, poor execution for me. The pacing was simply atrocious. Too slow for about 85% of the book where reading felt like pulling teeth and too fast for the rest where absolutely no time was spent on the resolution and climax of the novel. I think this could have benefited from being a much shorter story. And while I understand the fantasy elements were not necessarily the most important of the novel, esp. thematically, they felt incredibly underdeveloped to me which was hugely disappointing.

I will say I found most of the characters engaging, which was the novel's saving grace for me. Their grief and their fears and the sense of urgency to live life to the fullness and be reckless in some cases, or overly careful in orders, in the light of the aids crisis ravaging their community felt raw. Unfortunately, the moments where the novel engages with this fully without the disappointing fantasy plot getting in the way were rare.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The story starts with Joe, the protagonist, having lost his boyfriend to the virus. He is alone now and on a night out he meets Ronnie, a wishful thinker who becomes his best friend. Ronnie convinces Joe to leave his job and go with him to work bartending in Fire Island for the summer. Things don't go according to plan and Joe gets involved with some peculiar characters.

The AIDS pandemic is the bigger context in this book. It's a theme that makes me feel queasy and uncomfortable. I've seen people get sick, people die, but also people living with it and carrying on with their lives. I'm thankful that things have been improving over the years, but I can't help getting worried or scared sometimes, and reading related stories triggers the fear and makes me nostalgic and sad. As I kept making progress in the story I realized that the context made the life and personalities of the characters shine brighter, and a lot more interesting. How do Disco Witches keep on living with death always threatening?

In the end the story put me in a down mood, I felt sympathy for the characters and the hardships they had to face. It's a story that goes into that space in fiction where tragedies keep piling on until we arrive at a cathartic end. A journey with romance and some spicy scenes, which is what I enjoyed the most. I would really like for gay stories to divert from drama and tragedy, but at least this one doesn't dance around the ugly parts.

I was so excited to get approved for this novel! This book is not for the faint of heart (strong language, sex scenes, etc.) but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I loved the elder gay men and their perspectives on things. I would recommend this book.

Everyone in this book talks and acts like a horny teenager. No matter if they're in their 20s, 30s or 60s. The book is also set in the 80s, but everyone sounds like they have a Tumblr blog.

Additionally, these quotes are ... something?

a low rumbling voice that literally caused Joe's testicles to vibrate



Literally? Please see a doctor

The psychic cilia inside my intestines are wiggling with joy



No really. Go and see a doctor

If I looked as good as him, I'd be shish-kebabbing so many bottoms I could open a Greek good truck



I had to read this sentence and now so do you

Vince kissed Ronnie with the right amount of push and pull by the lips and tongue, a good balance of wet and dry, hard and soft, with the perfect number of rest stops and a hungry tension, like a roller coaster climbing to a drop



I have read instruction manuals that were sexier than this. I mean ... rest stops? A roller coaster?

Vince's lips and tongue, like two small fists, beat Joe's mouth into submission, sucking and biting his lips.



You thought the roller coaster was bad? There's worse kissing scenes in this book.

Our orgies, though unphotographed, lasted days. Bliss exploded everywhere, staining everything and everyone with joy.



I'll leave you with this beautiful mental image, that hopefully makes you understand why I'm not going to read the whole book.

Blair Fell's Disco Witches of Fire Island is at its best when it highlights the resilience of the queer community, the power of chosen family, and the sheer joy of living despite uncertainty. The novel's treatment of HIV/AIDs is refreshingly hopeful, emphasizing love and support rather than tragedy. And, or course, the promise of disco witches is an undeniable draw - who wouldn't want more of that?

That said, while the book delivers on its themes of community and survival, it falls short in execution. The magical elements feel underdeveloped, with the coven of disco witches taking a backseat when they should have been a driving force. Joe's relationship with Elliot is meant to be central to his arc as a character, but because we see so little of it, his grief often feels distant. Similarly, his dynamic with Fergal swings wildly from hatred to love and back again without enough emotional groundwork to make it feel believable.

The pacing is another issue - much of the book moves very slowly, but when the long-anticipated climax comes, it feels rushed which undercuts its emotional impact. And while Howie and Lenny shine as fully realized, complex characters (based on the Authors note, this is probably due to their real-life inspirations), many of the other characters - Joe, Ronnie, and Fergal especially - feel inconsistent and shallow.

Ultimately, this book has a strong heart but struggles to balance its magical premise with its character-driven drama. It's a book with moments of brilliance, particularly in its depiction of love, community, and survival, but it leaves too many of its most compelling elements unexplored.

A tender, funny and emotional gay romance set in Fire Island during the height of the AIDS epidemic. While there is a love story and there are definitely disco witches, the overarching feel is that of a loving ethnography, a memoir of a time and place where so many felt hopeless yet there were always those offering care, support, and love.

The title pulled me in - I admit it. I love disco and wish I grew up in that period. Not that I'd actually go out and dance, ha. Witches are fascinating and have the best balance of reality and magic without going into the realm of the fantasy genre for me; it's not appealing to me. And I spent a few summer's on Fire Island, so I totally understand the culture, even if I was way too young when the book took place in the 80s.

I enjoyed reliving a few experiences, seeing the comedy of older gay men who try to look out for the youngin's, and being exposed to an entirely different side of life that can be shocking and entertaining. Tender moments interspersed throughout the story make for a proper balance of emotions. The magical moments went over my head and for me pulled the story down rather than showcase a tighter theme of tolerance and imagination.

Not a book I'd recommend for the faint of heart when it comes to promiscuity, sexual scenes, or even strong language. But well done in that it evoked a lot of depth to truth, personality, and the party scene.

Fell creates a fascinating image of life for gay men in the New York/Philly area during the AIDS crisis, which she interweaves with beautiful imagery and intriguing fantasy elements.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me an advanced reader copy of this book. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed it! I was intrigued about everything in the synopsis: light fantasy realism in Fire Island during the AIDS epidemic. I found the author was able to find a really good balance of evoking the how ones grapple with trying to move on and find joy in their lives when everyone they love is getting sick with the disease or has fear of the disease.

I found the characters extremely lovable, especially Fergal! The only area I wish expanded more was the magic of the Disco Witches. I found the little breadcrumbs throughout the beginning half of the book to be a bit confusing and not part of the plot. Certain phrases like Joe is the "chosen one" I felt was a wrong word choice -- chosen for what? To be the victim of the Great Darkness? The ending did feel a bit rushed to me and left some questions desired: why does Fergal have webbed fingers and toes? What is the significance of the merman clock? Is Scotty connected somehow to the egregores?

If this is the first of a series, I'm excited to read more!

Queer witches plus fire island!! Makes for an absolutely magical story. This book was unique and pulled me in.
Can’t wait to see what’s next for the author

3/5 stars
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC

The Disco Witches is an undeniably unique and ambitious novel, blending queer history, fantasy, and romance into a shimmering, high-stakes story of love, grief, and community resilience. There’s so much to love here!

For me, the best part was the atmosphere. The book absolutely nails what I imagine the energy of Fire Island was in 1989. The inclusion of disco witches as protectors of queer spaces is both camp and moving, and I really appreciated how the book used fantasy elements to explore real-world themes of loss and resilience.

That being said, while I adored the worldbuilding, the execution felt uneven at times. The pacing is a bit inconsistent—some parts of the book flew by with electric energy, while others dragged under the weight of exposition. Additionally, while I appreciated the book’s willingness to be both sexy and heartfelt, the tonal shifts between grief, lust, and magic sometimes felt a little jarring. One moment we’re dealing with the crushing weight of loss, the next we’re diving into a spicy scene, and the transitions didn’t always feel smooth.

Overall, The Disco Witches is a fascinating, genre-blending novel with a lot of heart, even if not every element fully landed for me. If you’re looking for something queer, magical, and steeped in history, it’s definitely worth checking out—just be prepared for a bit of a bumpy ride.

I enjoyed all the different characters. They are well written and fun. It's an interesting story idea but it didn't really work for me. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

The second I read the summery for this, I know I had to read it!

It was the perfect blend of historical and fantasy, emotional and hilarious, all topped off with flawless 80's vibes.

As much as I enjoyed all of the characters, I feel like we didn't quite need as many different perspectives as we got. It confused my little brain a little times especially with the third person POVs. That being said, each perspective was unique and every character felt extra special.

Joe was a really great MC with an emotional back story and wonderful character arc. It was easy to love him and empathise with him from early on in the book. I'd love to say the same for Ronnie, however I only really started to like him towards the end.

Of all the beautiful and colourful characters, I feel like my heart belongs to Howie. there was something about the dreamy way he's described and his easy going, mystical nature that just made him a tiny bit more special to me than the others. Well, Fergal is close behind, I couldn't help but fall in love with him too!

The rest of the characters, Lenny, Dory, Vince, Elana etc, were all amazing too and I'd bet that pretty much everyone would fall in love with at least one of them!

Story-wise, I'd describe it as a magical way for finding queer joy even in the darkest of times.

I lost interest in this book very quickly, despite the interesting/engaging title. Was a "Did Not Finish" for me.

Thanks to NetGalley for the copy.

DNF. Couldn’t bring myself to love this book, even though I really, really wanted to. Writing felt flat, and I just couldn’t love any of the characters.

I adore the premise of the book but feel a bit let down by the execution. I wanted it to go a little harder into the fantasy, or into the grungy draggy camp, or the sharp sense of humor, or the radicalness of it all. It instead felt like it only dipped its toes into all the fun themes it promised. Enjoyed the AIDS history and some of the characters.

I did not know what to expect from this and I ended up enjoying it a lot. It's at times tragic and sad, sweet and hopeful, funny and bizarre. Set in 1989, it has a realistic and tender portrayal of AIDS and those who lost their lives and those who lost loved ones. I really liked the characters of Joe and Fergal, Ronnie and Vince, and Howie and Lennie. They all had depth and interesting backstories, and there were always unexpected bits that surprised me. There were several great supporting characters, too, plus a setting that was unfamiliar to me but richly depicted. It's historical fiction meets magical realism, with some romance sprinkled in. The emotional parts hit hard, but it also had spicy and hilarious parts as it explored themes of love, self-acceptance and acceptance of others, found family, and more.

This is a good book, but it's not a great one. The author promises a book with magic, but there's barely any in it. When magic does appear, it's so miniscule that you can't even tell it exists. If you're going to put the word "witches" in the title, you'd better deliver. In the end, this is just a gay romance, nothing more.

The backdrop of the AIDS crisis puts everything in perspective. Having lived through those years, I was fascinated how the author delivered the fear and anger amongst those affected by it. Young LGBT people these days have no idea what it was like to live through the AIDS years. Maybe this book will give them a taste of it.

The book is a bit slow in places as the pacing gets hammered by subplots that aren't that important. When the author delves into the characters' love life, it picks up.

Had the author actually put magic in the book, it would have gotten five stars. As it is, I give it a weak four stars. Would I read it again? Probably, but I'd do it without any expectations of magic.

As you might expect from the title, Disco Witches of Fire Island is heavy on the camp. What came as a surprise was how heartfelt, humorous, and ultimately hopeful it was. I’ll be recommending this to my bookstore customers, and reading whatever else I can get my hands on by Blair Fell.

Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for the ARC!