As a huge fan of M. L. Rio’s writing, I was excited to dive into Graveyard Shift, but I have to admit, I was a bit disappointed. While Rio’s writing is usually sharp and immersive, I didn’t find the same depth in this novella. It felt like the storytelling didn’t quite measure up to the high standard set by If We Were Villains, which I absolutely loved.

Another letdown was the length—after such a long wait since If We Were Villains, I was hoping for something more substantial than a short story. That said, the novella still left me wanting more, which speaks to Rio’s talent for creating intriguing characters and compelling plots, even in a smaller format.

In the end, while I was hoping for a more satisfying follow-up, Graveyard Shift still manages to capture some of the magic of Rio’s writing and left me curious for what’s next.

I had the chance to see ML Rio speak about this book and it really put her writing into perspective for me. While this isn't If We Were Villains, I need to be able to look beyond that. This was a good, short, spooky-season read!

This was a weird one, and would have benefited from being a full length novel, but as it stands this was underwhelming.

M.L Rio was able to write such a suspenseful and interesting plot within this novella. I enjoyed the characters and the setting of the story. My only issue is that it was so short since I wanted so much more of their writing and more of the characters. Despite this, I loved the ending and how it can be so open to interpretation. It perfectly encapsulated the feeling of working so late at night. This novella is a must book for anyone who has every worked a night shift and loves gritty books.

A short, punchy tale littered with engaging characters, striking ideas, and images that get under your skin. Full review posted at BookBrowse: https://www.bookbrowse.com/mag/reviews/index.cfm/ref/pr314688

M.L. Rio has a mindblowing record of scaring the bejeesus out of me. Graveyard Shift follows in the vein of their other works, and will assuredly give you the creepy crawlies you're craving.

I really like the premise of this book and was super excited to read it. However I really just didn't care about any of the characters. Or the plot. I feel like if this had been a full novel rather than a novella and I got to spend more time with the characters I would have liked it more. I don't think any of the characters were supposed to be super likeable but I didn't love them, hate them, or love to hate them. I just didn't care. Except for Hannah. I hated her. She was what every girl on tumblr in 2014 was hoping they'd grow up to be and not for any good reasons. I hated how many times her skinny frame was brought up for no other reason than to make her seem edgy and troubled.

Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for the ARC!

I love a short story but this felt too short. I hope these characters find their way into an additional work because I want to know more.

I’m a huge fan of ML Rio’s ‘if We Were Villains’ and it’s been a long wait for new writing from her so I was thrilled when this little gothic novella was announced and I immediately preordered it. Gothic ML Rio novella set in a graveyard? Sign. Me. Up.

Every night, in the college's ancient cemetery, five people cross paths as they work the late shift: a bartender, a rideshare driver, a hotel receptionist, the steward of the derelict church that looms over them, and the editor-in-chief of the college paper, always in search of a story.

One dark October evening in the defunct churchyard, they find a hole that wasn't there before. A fresh, open grave where no grave should be. But who dug it, and for whom?

Before they go their separate ways, the gravedigger returns. As they trail him through the night, they realize he may be the key to a string of strange happenings around town that have made headlines for the last few weeks--and that they may be closer to the mystery than they thought.

Sarah and I went were actually approached to interview M for our podcast, The Dark Academicals, and were offered NetGalley copies to read and review in preparation. She is lovely and so clever and we had a really great discussion - look out for the episode releasing in December at the end of this season of the podcast. Our paid subscribers of The Dark Academicals Book Club will get early access to the episode so make sure you’re a part of the club!


I’m having a bit of a horror renaissance at the moment and I was so pleasantly surprised by how gross this was. ‘Graveyard Shift’ plays with mycology and fungal horror on top of the Gothic elements to make something genuinely unsettling in such a short novella. There’s some fairly graphic and gross moments around the graveyard and it never feels like gross for the sake of gross, it' heightens the horror of what might be happening as well as raising the issues of medical ethics and the idea of what is underneath, what is growing and developing out of sight and out of mind which is important to this novella.

ML Rio is a master of ensemble casts and all five characters in ‘Graveyard Shift’ are fascinating. Tuck, Edie, Tamar, Theo and Hannah are five characters who should not really come into contact with each other; they all exist in the underbelly of the academic world, but very separately. They unveil areas and situations that are usually hidden in dark academia or dark academia adjacent novels and settings; they are the people that pick up the pieces after the fallout of a dark academia novel.

The ending of this feels a little abrupt and there are a lot of questions left unanswered, but I think for me it was an effective tool rather than something that felt unfinished or unsatisfying. Though, of course, I really wouldn’t say no to a full novel to get to know these characters more deeply. This story has stayed with me and the characters have continued to live on beyond the last page because there are so many threads left to pull on.

I really enjoyed ‘Graveyard Shift’ and all that was packed into so few pages, though I still did want a little more from the storya dn the characters. It was great to be enmeshed in ML Rio’s writing again and it’s made me even more excited for ‘Hot Wax’.

Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for the review copy.

Written by Sophie

I loved ‘If We Were Villains’ but this one was not great. I understand it was a mini Ella but it missed a lot of heart and the writing was fine.

I will read anything M.L. Rio writes, and I absolutely devoured this book. I love Rio's style; it's poetic and lyrical but dark and gritty too. Graveyard Shift was short and sweet and exactly what I needed.

The spooky vibes of a graveyard, mystery, and late night smoke break fit my mood perfectly. I loved the dynamic of the characters and how they’re friends in such a random way. All drawn together because of a college campus rule. I wish it had been longer, but I’m not mad at the abrupt ending. I liked that it’s kind of open to interpretation.

Thank you to FlatIron Books and Netgalley for this arc.

Posted on Goodreads on 12/18/24.

My opinions are on par with pretty much every other reader.
It should have been longer. It ended just as it was getting good. However, the playlist and the vibes were AWESOME.

I really wanted more from this book. I have wanted another book from M.L. Rio for years now and thought that this had a lot of potential. I think its biggest weakest was thr fact that its a novella and not a novel. There just wasnt the room for the author to do all that they wanted and the ending was disappointing. I wanted more!

3.5 Rounded Up
Graveyard Shift is a quick read novella, that I wish had offered more. I loved the scooby-doo type investigation and cast of characters, but the twists were not very far jumps, and connected very quickly for me. Where I felt that this book shone brightest was in it's characters; I could have definitely spend 300+ pages with the people in this book.

Thank you Flatiron Books, Netgalley, and M. L. Rio for an ARC of this book. All opinions shared are my own.

Short, spooky, and fun? Yes. Interesting? Not so much. Wish it dug a little deeper but ultimately that doesn't seem to be what the goal was here.

An interesting, dark little book. It is well-written, but I wish it was longer to develop the characters more. But, some will like the atmosphere and scenery and how short a read that it is,

Thank you for this arc!!

I found the synopsis very interesting and definitely needed something short and spooky to read. Unfortunately I could not get into the book. :/

Thanks to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for the ARC.

You think you're cruising along through a spooky thriller/mystery, then BAM! Suprise Fungi! Spreading their spores through horror, fantasy, and science fiction alike, no genre is safe!

I kid, but also didn't expect the fungal stuff... despite the mushrooms on the cover, I am not very attentive. It's a compelling mystery with an interesting set of characters at its core, but it wraps up too quickly before we can really get into them. Especially once you get into Hannah's pov, the real horror is only ever implied with her experiences, and it would have benefitted from a few more chapters so we can actually see it.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7002785622

https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/171c27b5-9957-42f5-8595-e4c2fbd0b05f?redirect=true

Check out this review of Graveyard Shift on Fable. https://fable.co/review/e105d89c-c2af-400a-a22c-ccf4631cdfbc/share

While I definitely planned to get to If We Were Villains before I read this, I am not disappointed at all by this being my first foray into M.L. Rio's writing! Graveyard Shift follows an eccentric group of night owls who meet at the same churchyard every night and become embroiled in an academic mystery when a hole mysterious appears at their meeting location.

While I would have loved to get more time with all of these characters, I think this works very well as a novella. The snapshots into each character's lives and motivations over the course of one night built a tense atmosphere that had me engaged up to the end. I loved the mystery and the unfolding of it, which the writing balanced very well with an immersive setting. The ending came much more abruptly than I expected, but that has emerged as my only disappointment. M.L. Rio is clearly talented at building distinct characters in a short amount of time, and I will be recommending this far and wide - as well as bumping IWWV way up on my TBR. I hope I get to see more of her work in the future!

I was provided an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley and Flatiron!