Skeletons in the Closet

I received an Advance Reader Copy of Skeletons in the Closet by R.D. Noland. I selected this book because I enjoy reading LGBTQIA+ books and thought a fantasy would be a lot of fun.
This book IS a lot of fun! But I want to preface this with an adult content warning. Skeletons in the Closet starts out with some pretty graphic m/m smut scenes. And I also need to say that there is a scene with sexual violence in the first chapter. It does have relevance for the book and the main character's story progression, but I needed to put this warning in place.
I really enjoyed the story and thought the characters were believable. The main character, Jason, was both relatable and sarcastic, and Noland wrote him with perfect Twink vibes. Even before it was stated later in the book I got this - fantastic descriptive writing.
One thing that threw me off was the time period this was written in. The first indication was an apartment for $600 rent a month (what! Unheard of now!) followed by references to the "gay cancer" going around. This does not detract from the story, but I did scratch my head in confusion before I realized when this was written from.
Skeletons in the Closet falls into a few genres: adult fantasy, LGBTQIA+, romance, and mystery/crime - all in one story. It definitely keeps pace and is a page-turner. I love how all aspects of the story relate to one another and pull the conclusion together. Honestly, very well thought-out and executed outline! Commendations to Noland.
Noland painted a very realistic picture of what I imagine the life of a gay man in the late 80s/early 90s was. Plenty of sex, lots of fun and dancing, some acceptance, some bigotry and hatred, coupled with the murder of innocent gay men. Heartbreaking and beautiful.
As an aside, my favorite character was Jo and I 100% stand behind those protective lesbian mother vibes from her!
I feel like this book focused more on the LGBTQIA+ storyline and less on the witch/fantasy side. I would have loved to hear more about the family history of witchcraft and also Jason's father's Druidic association. But I guess that's for future books!
I recommend this book to readers who enjoy smutty m/m action set in a fantasy story. I would not recommend this book to anyone who is triggered by sexual violence or graphic sex scenes.

This has to be categorized as an enthusiastic 3 rating, because I found myself charmed both by the story and by Jason Wynwood’s character—despite the insistently unpolished and badly-edited writing. This is Harry Potter set in middle-America, presented to the reader through the eyes of R.D. Noland who, after reading his biography, could himself be Jason Wynwood. The tale is told in a matter-of-fact way, filled with unadorned yearning and a kind of awkward young-adult sex that I found weirdly endearing.
Jason Wynwood is the teenaged protagonist in this kitchen-sink paranormal romance set in the early 1980s. At first it just seems like the simple story of a high-school graduate who lives in suburban Dayton, Ohio, being angsty about coming out to his family. Jason works his way toward independent adulthood by means of sharing an apartment with his cousin and working as a waiter in a local Chinese restaurant.
Weirdly, the book actually starts with a dark prologue about a college student picking up a trick at a rest stop and apparently coming to a bad end. So, right away we know that something’s up, and it seems to be paranormal. It takes quite a while before the story ties back into the macabre opening scene.
Jason’s personal journey in southern Ohio becomes a three-pronged story: coming out, discovering his own magic powers, and helping his newly found paranormal community track down a serial killer. Eventually, Jason meets Damien, a beautiful dark-haired boy who seems to be Jason’s dream date but turns out to have his own interesting complications. It’s a bittersweet story, this one, opening the way for the second book in the series, “In the Light of The Moon.”