When I started delving into the Gothic genre, Gaywyck shone out like a beacon as the first gay Gothic novel. After library and local bookstore searches came up with bupkis, I gave up finding Gaywyck myself and started searching eBay and Amazon. However, the good gay God was looking out for me. The next day, I visited friends at Meet Cute, a queer romance bookstore, and guess what was on the shelf!

Robert Whyte is ready for romance to sweep him off his feet. When the dark, brooding Donough Gaylord offers him a job cataloging the vast library on his Long Island estate, Whyte sees the adventure as an answer to his ecstatic prayers. His world opens up to include art, gay friends, and queer epiphanies–but also blood-soaked family histories, fraught relationships, and someone in the walls.

This is so???? Good???? Holy shit. Gaywyck is everything I’d dreamed it would be. It’s sentimental and sensational and sensory. Whyte is a joy-sparking protagonist. His idealism and purity are strengths, never weaknesses. Virga had such fun writing this book, and it shows in the delight and revelry of the characters, setting, and plot. I was able to predict one big twist, but that didn’t annoy, only enhanced the enjoyment. In the afterward, Virga explained his process and the initial fan reactions to the novel. I totally understand why fans wrote and asked if the Gaywyck was real, if it was a home they could roost in. Gaywyck is worth any search and gifts the reader every happiness. I want more!!! More!!!!