Book Recs: LGBT Books With the Vibe of Interview With the Vampire

I am, of course, talking about the 2022 AMC TV series. The masterpiece of modern television. The adaptation that (hopefully) has Anne Rice turning in her grave. If you’re wasting your Sundays on a different show, I don’t know how to help you…

For those of you who simply want more vampire stories, Charlotte will have a rec list soon has a rec list, don’t worry! But I’m here for vibes, and vibes alone. I’m here for the toxic, unhealthy relationships! (Though I did include a few vampire titles, as well, and because of that this list is actually longer than usually.)

And if you want more trans stories about vampires (like we all do!), I’ve been told you should keep an eye out for Danny Bryn & Rem Wigmore next year!

These Violent Delights

Micah Nemerever
Goodreads
Rep: Jewish gay mc, gay li
TW: self-harm, suicide, murder, violence, blood, gore, toxic relationships, homophobia

Why Should I Read It?

I described this originally as The Secret History on steroids; more gay and somehow more dramatic. It’s so much more than that, though! You absolutely will be thinking about this book for days. It’s not enough to say the narrator is unreliable, he willfully projects a false reality both of himself and of his love interest. It’s fascinating. Their favourite pastime is coming up with ways to murder people, come on!

Wild and Wicked Things

Francesca May
Goodreads
Rep: lesbian mc, nonbinary lesbian mc, bi side character
TW: domestic violence, child abuse, magic requiring self harm, blood, body horror, violence, murder, guns

Why Should I Read It?

If you want the 1920s’ aesthetics and a lot of blood, this one’s for you! It’s The Great Gatsby retelling, but Gatsby is a nonbinary blood witch lesbian. There’s some mystery, there’s a beautiful atmosphere, there’s a relationship that probably isn’t based on the best of impulses (but it matures into something lovely)…

The Monster of Elendhaven

Jennifer Giesbrecht
Goodreads
Rep: achillean mcs
TW: gore, blood, murder, violence, rape

Why Should I Read It?

An actual horror. It’s kind of like Venom, but if that was a gothic horror and Eddie very, very much wasn’t a good person. Nothing says ‘codependency’ and ‘obsessive relationships’ quite like literally owning a killing-machine monster who’s lowkey a part of you.

Peter Darling

Austin Chant
Goodreads
Rep: gay trans mc, gay li

Why Should I Read It?

There are sweet parts to Interview with the Vampire, though, and this book feels exactly like those brief moments. This is the love that makes everything work, this is the devotion and the faith. This is the warmth of a family, and finding your place in the world.

Quicksand

Jun’ichirō Tanizaki
Goodreads
Rep: Japanese cast & setting, sapphic mc & li

Why Should I Read It?

A two word description for this is ‘toxic lesbians’. That alone should tell you enough! It’s a psychological thriller, and it will absolutely make you question everything. Starting with who is even telling the truth here. You know perfectly well that it will end badly, but still you’re basically intoxicated by the experience of reading it.

Confidence

Rafael Frumkin
Goodreads
Rep: gay mc, bi li

Why Should I Read It?

Okay, yes, it is a 2023 book, and I do feel kinda bad for reccing it now, but listen! If you want a toxic, obsessive relationship (I’m looking at you, Lestat), if you want the balance of said relationship to be uneven, if you want a book that will make you wanna scream… It’s all there!

The Bayou

Arden Powell
Goodreads
Rep: achillean mc & li
TW: child rape, suicide, murder, gore, body horror, violence, homophobia

Why Should I Read It?

Again, a horror, and there might not be any vampires, but the devil sure walks among us. (Or does he?) The writing is lush and otherwordly, it makes you feel just as suffocated as the characters do. You won’t be able to escape, and you won’t even want to. This novella is about vengeance, and taking whatever it is you desire. You thought the church scene in the show was sexy? Oh, my sweet summer child…

Darknesses

Lachelle Seville
Goodreads
Rep: Black sapphic mc, sapphic li

Why Should I Read It?

My one and only vampire novel recommendation. In the true spirit of the show, it perfectly balances the comedy with a lot of more difficult topics. It doesn’t shy away from ugly truths, while also giving you countless reasons for joy. And, as a cherry on top, a developing relationship.

Tell Me I’m Worthless

Alison Rumfitt
Goodreads
Rep: trans sapphic mc, sapphic mc
TW: racism, antisemitism, transphobia, rape (both in abstract and graphic ways), self-harm, suicide

Why Should I Read It?

There are a lot of ways to describe this book: literary gothic, contemporary horror. It’s unsettling, it’s a haunted house of a novel. You might not get vampires here, but you sure do have sometimes unlikable characters and questionable morals.

Summer Sons

Lee Mandelo
Goodreads
Rep: achillean mc, bi li, bi trans side character, achillean side character, Black gay side character
TW: gore, violence, blood, f slur, internalised homophobia, implied suicide, body horror, animal death, drug use

Why Should I Read It?

This is a story very heavy on the atmosphere (like the show!), it makes you feel like you’re there, in the summer heat, racing cars at night. A visceral kind of imagery. It centers an unhealthy, toxic relationship, but it still manages to be beautiful as well.

Small Changes Over Long Period of Time
in Uncanny Magazine Issue 16: May/June 2017

K.M. Szpara
Goodreads
Rep: trans gay mc, gay characters

Why Should I Read It?

One of the two short stories I wanted to mention. A very modern and very trans take on vampire. Refreshing, if you will.

Blood Play
in Unthinkable: A Queer Gothic Anthology

Tabitha O’Connell
Goodreads
Rep: nonbinary ace mc, ace-spec li

Why Should I Read It?

Another short story, frankly with all the best elements of the show: (contemporary) gothic, vampires, a dash of comedy, neck-biting as a form of love language.

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