Heart, Haunt, Havoc

The Gideon Testaments #1

by Freydís Moon

Laced with romance, gothic imagery, Catholic mysticism, diaspora, and horror…

When lonely transgender exorcist, Colin Hart, finds himself challenged by an unruly haunted house in Gideon, Colorado, he’s kept awake by ghosts, demons, ghouls, and the handsome nonbinary owner of the house, Bishop Martínez.

Unlike the simple hauntings Colin is accustomed to, Bishop’s house is a living beacon, attracting a plethora of inhuman creatures, including a vengeful wolf-headed spirit who might be the key to quieting their sleepless nights.

But as a heartbreaking mystery unravels, Colin comes face-to-face with the past Bishop tried to bury, opens a closet full of bloody skeletons, and trips into an accidental romance.

As paranormally skilled as Colin might be, this particular haunting may be too messy for him to handle…

Genres: Horror, Romance, Fantasy, Queer, LGBT, Paranormal, Novella

156 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 14, 2023

About the author

Freydís Moon (they/them) is a bestselling, award-winning author, diviner, and creator with an affinity for quirky, speculative storytelling. A lover of culture, mysticism, history, and language, they constantly find themself lost in a book, trying their hand at a new recipe, or planning a trip to a faraway place.

Content Warnings are available for prose and poetry on their Carrd and inside each book. Read with care.

This account is not actively managed by the author. Please use the contact available on their Carrd or reach out via Twitter with any questions regarding their work/creative opportunities.

Reviews

[Eliot · Rating 1 out of 5]

eta: given the author seems to have fun stalking every review & making statements about them, i'm rounding it down now :) never touching another of their books again now lol

eta of eta: got blocked by the author for this, so you can be reassured they WILL be reading anything you say here

eta of eta of eta: Turns out I have to remove my "bipoc" tag for this, https://twitter.com/porterotica/statu... hello fake author i hope you're checking reviews still

like i said elsewhere, i hope you're ruined by this. i supported what i believed was a trans, latine author who didn't exist and was just a white asshole posing. give me back my money, books are expensive as hell to actual latin americans

****


2.5-ish rounded up

the good: the casual rep for sure, & the imagery during magic/exorcisms- i kept thinking this would've worked so well in a visual medium like comics

the "it's not for me": the non-stop religious stuff - the book IS advertised as including catholic mythos, but i didn't think this would mean the POV MC would be constantly, constantly talking about catholic stuff, mostly in a positive/yearning way. Saying it includes catholic mythos is like saying PJO "includes greek myths". I can sure dig some catholic guilt but it kinda has to have that "and fuck god and his faith, then" for it to work for me, personally, & while there's an inkling of that it wasn't enough to balance out the perma-references and longing for it.

the "i think it might be the book's issue": ... too short. The romance felt instalove/lust with no backing to it because the characters barely had time to talk once or twice and they're banging 24/7 (something i can enjoy just fine! look at TWDA! but didn't work here for me). The big mystery's explained nearly right away, and then the rest of the book feels rather boring because it's just a matter of well, how do we get rid of this one jackass. I think an adjustment in pacing would've made it so much better - i did end up liking the MCs by the end of it, and vaguely invested in their relationship, but it was too little too late.

overall - i wish i had liked this much more than i did.

[james · Rating 4 out of 5]

welcome to 202-Queer 🌈✨

50 in February: 29/50


like i said, a book that starts with a Siken quote can only be good


what i enjoyed most about this book is its beautiful writing style. it definitely left me wanting more, both in the sense that it made me read on almost like in a trance and that i now can't wait to explore the author's other works.

the characters were very well crafted and had a lot of depth for a book of such a short length.

the story itself dragged for me towards the end but i'm also just not into occult magic (sorry) so that was a given.


overall, it's a beautiful book with a beautifully crafted story and if i don't see every single one of you adding this to your tbr i will haunt your dreams and cause havoc (no hearts for you)





when will this finally be out so that i can feel something like happiness again 🤧

---
t4t gothic horror romance!! 2023 is gonna be my year because of this book alone!!

[Eleanor · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Haunting ✨'s

Heart, Haunt, Havoc is a queer gothic romance following Bishop, whose home is haunted by their tragic past, and Colin, an occult expert hired to cleanse said home. When secrets unravel, Bishop and Colin find themselves seeking solace in each other and their shared ties to loneliness, heartbreak, and the paranormal.

I think I enjoyed the idea of this more than the actual story. While I liked the writing and background, the plot was a little lackluster and I couldn't connect with Colin or Bishop and their fast romance. Freydís Moon has a way with words but I wasn't able to stay fully immersed in the story because of how everything unfolded; I desperately needed more action, gore, and happenings. I think because this is a novella, the romance and mystery felt forced and fell a little short for my liking. All that said, I will be continuing on with this series, I loved Tehlor in the story and I'm so excited to read her book.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm not usually one for gothic romances, however, I enjoyed this fairly well. Full RTC!

[Iman (hiatus) · Rating 3 out of 5]

”PSA: if you're reading my books expecting 'trans issues' and deep-dives into coming out and/or pain via transitioning, please realign your expectations.

I write about magic, fantasy, grief, tragedy, love, eroticism—all sorts of things. Being trans is just a part of that.”

The author post that on twitter. And yes, I gathered that from what I have read by their writing.

Anyway, back to this book. The atmosphere was great. I loved the writing, the pacing was great and enjoyable. Although, I did like Three Kings better than this. The mystery part wasn’t really my cuppa since I needed more eerie-mystery plotline. I understood the core of the plotline, but it didn’t have that grip on me. I’m looking forward to Exodus now.

[Shawna (endemictoearth) · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this last year and didn't know what to rate it so I just . . . didn't, because I wasn't sure what I thought of it, but everyone else seemed to love it.

Now that the author has been revealed as a fraud, I'll just give it a quick one-star and move on. (Other one-star reviews contain receipts.)

[Bethany (Beautifully Bookish Bethany) · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars rounded up

A gothic horror novella with a side of queer erotic romance? Love it! If you enjoy books like A Dowry of Blood, House of Hunger, or Summer Sons you should give this a try.

Heart, Haunt, Havoc is a haunted house story with Catholic influences following a non-binary witch who hires a trans guy with a complicated past to cleanse their house of gouls. This was creepy, sexy, and surprisingly sweet with themes of complicated relationships to religion, especially for queer folks. It is definitely horror, so be prepared for gore, violence, and ritual sacrifice. I really liked this and will read more from Freydis Moon in the future!

[Sarah ♡ (let’s interact!) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heart, Haunt, Havoc is a horror/romance novella. It reminded me (a little) of Cemetery Boys but with more possession. Both have the brujo magic!
This is the love story of a FtM-trans exorcist and a non-binary brujo - so it has great representation! I chose this as my last Pride Month read but definitely will not be the last LGBTQ+ book I read this year. There are SO many good ones that it was hard to narrow it down to choose what to read in June!
The writing is good with some creepy moments - corpse possession! It was solid 4 Star read for me - filled with gothic imagery and romance, and Catholic mysticism (the latter as all good Exorcism stories should!)

Colin Hart faces his latest challenge as an exorcist - an unruly haunted house in Gideon, Colorado. There is a vengeful wolf-headed spirit, which isn’t wanting to rest.
He is kept awake by ghost, demons, ghouls, and the handsome non-binary owner of the house - Bishop Martinez.
Bishop is trying to bury their past, but has it come back to haunt them? Colin wants to help as the mystery unfurls. Have the two of them tripped into an accidental and unexpected romance along the way? Or will all of this prove too much for Colin to handle?

TW:// ”Heart, Haunt, Havoc contains sensitive material, including but not limited to: sexual content, body horror, animal death (and resurrection), horror, depiction of dysphoria, murder, graverobbing, discussion of racism, & gore.” (the book literally starts with this Content Warning).

[Henry · Rating 1 out of 5]

EDIT: Well, turns out this author was pretending to be Latine and has a history of doing so under other pen names. While I feel justified in how much I hated this, I'm saddened for the trans Latine community and pissed that someone would do this. Avoid, avoid, avoid.

---

Reads like fanfiction a Superwholock fan wrote on their Tumblr back in the early 2010's, but with Catholics and furries. A lot of trite and flowery phrasings, unlikable characters and choppy pacing — 25% in and they were having sex without any build up at all.

I was excited for this one before I started, but I found it really disappointing. (Apparently the author also stalks reviews and drags critics on their Twitter, so... I don't want to support an author like that.)

If nothing else, this is the book that has finally convinced me that I need to try new-to-me authors from the library instead of buying them.

Unfortunately, I'd already bought another by this author, but it's even shorter than this one, so I'll give it a go and hopefully it works better for me.

[Saimi Vasquez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Colin es un "Especialista" en limpieza de cualquier cosa demoniaca que pueda haber. Pero siempre católico y aunque ha "perdido" un poco su fe, sabe que puede contar con los poderes de Alta Corte de Arcángeles para ayudarlo en sus "trabajos". Y si, tiene una gran tasa de éxitos, pero no espera para nada lo que encontró en la casa de Staghorn, una casa de llena de cualquier cantidad de espíritus, pero dominada con una presencia tan poderosa que pareciera ocupar todo el lugar. Pero eso no impedirá que luche con todo lo que tiene para limpiar esa casa. Ahora, si solo lograra controlar su atracción hacia el dueño, si solo lograra concentrarse en el trabajo podría salir de ahí con un trabajo bien realizado y sin el corazón roto.

Es una historia diferente, es un romance, pero también es un misterio, además de suspenso y terror. Sentí mas como una historia de lucha contra los demonios internos de cada persona, una forma de duelo después de una separación de una relación "abusiva". Me gustaron los protas, y aunque la historia es contada en primera persona por uno solo de los personajes, llegas a conocer bastante bien a los dos, sus dudas, sus miedos, sus deseos.
Todavia no termina de gustarme la narracion, mas en forma de pensamientos y descripciones que dialogos y conversaciones, que hace que la lectura sea por momentos fastidiosa. Pero la forma como se desarrolla la trama y los protas, fue lo que me mantuvo en la lectura y por lo que la encontre entretenida. Estoy segura que leere otros libros de este autor mas adelante.

[Jess · Rating 1 out of 5]

This sounded cool but I didn't like how the leads treated each other and then I found out about the many accusations against the author of ongoing bad behavior across various pseudonyms and ... that seems a little on the nose given my problems with the characterizations.

I generally enjoy unlikable characters. I generally try not to hold past behavior against authors so long as they address it and show change. This fails on both marks, at least as of right now.

DNF probably a third of the way through.

[Anniek · Rating 1 out of 5]

Removed my review and rating as this author was revealed to be abuser Taylor B. Barton, a white person pretending to be trans Latinx person Freydis Moon.

https://twitter.com/porterotica/statu...

[Ben Howard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heart, Haunt, Havoc follows exorcist Colin Hart, who's latest job finds him in Gideon, Colorado and a haunted house with a very attractive owner. But there's more to Bishop Martínez than they let on, and in order for Colin to exorcise the house, their secrets have to come to light.

It has all the spooky elements; a haunted house with a creepy wolf-headed apparition, and even a zombie rat.

The romance between Colin and Bishop took a bit to get off it's feet. I didn't feel the chemistry and attraction to justify the pinning in the beginning. But it picked up and I was on board and emotionally invested in their relationship by the end.

The events in this novella have be really interested in the sequel and how it's going to work.

[n]

this is jonathans fault

[Revy · Rating 1 out of 5]

it breaks my heart to change the review, but I feel sick. Genuinely, how dare you? How does something this beautiful and tender come from a place of such deception?

For context, just go to twitter/Instagram for this author's name.

[julia ☆ [owls reads] · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heart, Haunt, Havoc was an awesome read! The writing was engaging and I loved loved loved the world-building right from the beginning. Moon did a wonderful job with the religious element in a way that didn't feel overwhelming and I very much enjoyed how that was developed throughout the story.

And Colin and Bishop! I loved them as characters and found Colin's perspective so interesting. The way they met and how they slowly came to learn more of each other was very well done. The mystery surrounding Bishop's backstory was intriguing and kept me guessing and it was heartbreaking when it was revealed.

I didn't particularly enjoy the quick progression of the romance, though? Some of the scenes between them felt a little bit disconnected despite being lovely written and packed with emotion.

In general, the atmosphere here was equal parts spooky and hopeful and the way the plot dealt with themes of grief and acceptance was so well done. I really felt for the characters and what they were going through and really liked the more scary scenes. I'm definitely going to continue with the series since I want more of this world!

[aza · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ask and ye shall receive. After reading Freydís Moon's last book I wondered if the author had ever watched Supernatural. I know now for certain that they have

This is the 3rd book by Moon that I've read and I find all their writing entertaining. This story is about Colin Hart, an exorcist with a history who has walked away from the church's exorcism path and now works as a freelance exorcist.

He has come to investigate Bishop Martínez's home, and the moment Colin walks in he knows there's some crazy stuff going down. Something about the house has turned it into a hotspot for negative energies, and the house's owner is not being particularly forthcoming about why that may be...

This is the longest story I've read by Moon but despite this, oddly enough it felt like this story had a shakier foundation than the others, and that some of the mystery was rushed and fell flat. Regardless of this, as someone who has seen every episode of Supernatural clearly I can forgive these minor flaws in favor of entertainment with evil spirits

[Bon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Saw a lot of people reading this one and decided to try it.

The writing is well crafted, and the representation is great. The horror bits were written with some great turns of phrase. And that cover is very cool.

The story is quite insta-lust, which, novella, so I'd expect, but I felt zero chemistry between the leads. It felt like more page time was spent on religious introspection than the romance or horror elements.

I wasn't sure what Catholic mysticism referred to but there sure is heavy religious content on-page in inner monologues, in Colin's exorcisty practices, etc. as the TWs suggest. I optimistically thought there'd be less as I can tolerate some Catholic exorcism stories. And while I appreciate the "every faith works" messaging in the protagonist getting a Norse witch to help cleanse the house, the hostility between factions and the particular style of witchcraft shown was not my jam.

[thosemeddlingkids · Rating 1 out of 5]

Interesting premise, terrible delivery. This was one of those books where the audio version worsened an already meh story.

For anyone looking for a spooky haunted house story with a trans lead, might I suggest The Forgotten Dead by Jordan L Hawk instead?

Annoyed that I wasted my money on a physical and audio book of this dumpster fire. Would love a refund of my time and money 🥲

[everybookadoorway]

due to the recent discovery of some very disappointing and unacceptable behaviour from the author, i have made the decision to remove my rating and review for this book on all platforms. i will not be picking up anything by freydís moon/saint harlowe or any of their other aliases in the future.

[chichi · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars - read for #TheDiverseBaseline reading challenge on Storygraph, prompt: a book by a Latine author

First of all, Freydís Moon can write a damn book. Their writing was high quality right away and skillfully captured the creepy environment a haunted house story requires. The characters were well developed and felt dimensional within the limited page count, which was really impressive. The religious themes were interesting as well, and I liked how the gore and violent aspects were incorporated. Not excessive but definitely present when they were needed. I also thought the plot was fairly well paced for a novella, not wildly fast but didn't hesitate to get to the point. Objectively, this was a really solid gothic horror novella.

Ultimately, I think this was a case of liking the concept of a book more than the actual execution. While the structural aspects were all really solid, the more subjective, emotional connection wasn't there for me. First, the romance. I just didn't fully buy it...which is unfortunate because I liked both of the characters. There were some tender moments but they really didn't hit because I wasn't invested. In a similar vein, the plot was good on paper but I didn't find get fully immersed like I wanted to. My curiosity kept me reading but it was very surface level interest.

Based on the writing quality, the themes, the atmosphere...I have to read more from this author. So this will not be my last Freydís Moon, I'm confident they have a book I will love.

[vee. · Rating 3 out of 5]

↠ 3 stars.

“colin hadn’t earned his place yet, but he typically didn’t have to: haunted places never failed to recognize haunted people.”

this wasn't amazing but i can't say it was terrible either, so i'll just settle for median. loved the characters though, bishop is the exact type of person i too would be unprofessional for, the way they're lovely and slightly mysterious? it's a yes, fuck the job etiquettes for me. i feel you colin, i really do.

the story definitely could've been better but i won't complain cause it was, in all honesty, everything i needed after a 540 pages mariana zapata poorly written book—a heterosexual one, must i add—and for that i am forever grateful.

plus i asked for a queer couple and got a nonbinary POC and a transgender pal falling in love while fighting ghosts; couldn't ask for more ❤️‍🩹

➤ quotes:

as if his body was a home with too many unused rooms, too much open space. a place still under construction.

“in the beginning, maybe. but i don’t know if i can say i ever knew him.”
“you loved him,” he said.
“i loved who he allowed me to see,” bishop said.

“before i slept with you, i daydreamed about you. now that i’ve been with you, i’m consumed by you. how i feel about you, what i want from you… it’s thrilling; it’s excruciating. so, yes, you terrify me, bishop.”

[luke · Rating 2 out of 5]

religious guilt slaps but sadly it's not enough to save this smh

[blok sera szwajcarskiego · Rating 3 out of 5]

write me more books where queer people are wild and insane please

[aro · Rating 4 out of 5]

before i slept with you, i daydreamed about you. now that i’ve been with you, i’m consumed by you. how i feel about you, what i want from you… it’s thrilling; it’s excruciating. so, yes, you terrify me, bishop.

this book was an absolute delight to read with its lyrical writing style and immaculate vibes.

it’s part of my favourite niche genre - queer horror stories with religious imagery, and if you like that or books about the occult, demons, hauntings and the supernatural, t4t romances or if you like the conjuring, you might very well enjoy heart, haunt, havoc.

as the story of an exorcist, who has been hired to cleanse a client’s haunted house, occurs, unfolds a beautiful and haunting love story between the two.
what truly drives the story are the vibes and the characters. it’s an atmospheric read, and oh how i love well written and defined characters.

i read the book in less than a day, and i was easily consumed by it. it didn’t take me more than a few pages to fall in love with bishop and colin.

horror might be among my favourite genres and romance my least favourite, but who knew mixing them would work so great?

if it in the least peaks your interest, i highly recommend picking it up! it’s definitely worth it.

[alex ✨]

Review Removed

[atalina · Rating 1 out of 5]

i was 75% into the book and after months of trying to finish it, i’ve decided to end it. a real snoozer

[Heather]

Embarrassed that I fell for this authors charade. Sorry y’all 😔

[Izzy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nope no thanks

[kjhkkfsdhdfh · Rating 2 out of 5]

So I love how this book was about trans people while not being about their transness, if you know what I mean. I don’t need another book that tells me how shit dysphoria is or how crap cis people treat us. So, excellent on that front.

But. What this book WAS about was lacklustre at best. It reads like a book which was written to go viral on BookTok for its representation, keywords, and genre—which, I have to admit, totally got me (Horror? Ghosts? Demons? Magic? AND it’s gay? Hell yeah!).

But the characters were uninteresting, their relationship was unconvincing (“you terrify me” has so much potential but when it’s not justified, it just feels like a joke), not to mention that the writing somehow sucked any actual suspense or horror out of the story.

It also doesn’t help that I kept getting distracted by the unrealistic choices these characters kept making. They get snowed in without power for a day, and then go dig up a grave the next town over. Have you ever tried to dig frozen soil, let alone a grave? There’s a reason why burials often wait until spring! And then they wrap the corpse in a tarp, chuck it into the back of a truck, and start finger fucking each other in the cab, fingernails presumably full of dirt and ex-husband corpse rot. Disgusting. And then they just… drive home… as if no one would notice a dug up grave and tire tracks in the snow leading right back to their little exorcism session.

I almost dropped the book right there, but it was short so I finished it for the sake of completion. Can’t say it was worth it.

[Billie Yankie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like all else Freydís Moon writes, this is a marvelous exploration of magic and religion, where the two intersect and diverge. But it's also about the people, who practice and observe and the places they intersect.

Same energy, but different side of Exodus 20:3. Absolutely adored this.