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!

I really think this story has so much potential to be a full length novel! I’m not sure why it was cut so short, but I was left wanting more from it. The vibes were there from the start, but I wanted to feel closer to the characters and delve deeper into this story.

Quick but immersive read. I enjoyed how quickly and easily we got to know each of the characters. Their lives and personalities seemed well thought out for having so many characters and such a short length to get to know them. The story was unique and intriguing (who doesn't love a mycological mystery??). It reminded me of T. Kingfisher's and Silvia Moreno-Garcia's work. Can't wait to see what's next from this author.

Okay, Okay, Okay!

First things first, can we talk about how much information was poured into this?

Never mind, let's take a couple steps back.

So basically, we’ve got this crew. They're weirdos. And I don’t mean that in a harsh way, if that makes sense? They gather at night to smoke and catch up in this local graveyard because it’s just the right distance away from surrounding buildings. Yah know, with the specific smoking rules and such.

They're not really friends? Not really strangers? But they get together to talk every night. To chat.

The five of them are each very different from one another. That’s where the information comes in. You can really tell that Rio put in the time to research different aspects concerning their lives. Which is insane, seeing how there are FIVE of them and they're very different from each other.

Props Rio. I give you major props.

I won’t get into too many details, but one of the characters shares lots of characteristics with a friend of mine who is going into Library Science. It was like I was reading her life, with some extra bits and bobs of course.

Anyways! I really enjoyed the relationships amongst the characters as well as their realistic reactions to the problem at hand. I listened to the Audiobook, but I’ll probably try my hand at reading the physical copy when it releases simply because I feel like I missed some things. I also prefer Reading over Audiobooks, but I was too excited to wait!

I will also note, it was a multicast Audiobook! Not very many people know those exist and they're not super common. When I realized all of the characters were going to get their own voice, I was even more excited! It gives the listener a chance to really get immersed with the story, especially when the voice acting is done well like it was for this Audiobook. Great performance guys!

For now, I’m going to give this Novella a 3.5/5-star rating. I say that because, like I mentioned previously, I feel I’ll probably enjoy it more once I can read it with my own eyes and go back over certain things at my own pace. Not to mention I got lost in the sauce a couple times when it came to certain character’s inner monologues. The unfortunate side to backing up your characters with lots of information: Though it helps build the characters, it can be overwhelming when you have such a large cast and so few pages. Having to squeeze everything into something so small as a Novella and still clean it up for a satisfying ending couldn’t have been easy. If the book had been longer some scenes wouldn’t have felt so info dumpy.

Overall, it was a pleasure to read M.L. Rio’s writing again and I’m so glad to have been given a chance at early access to it.

My thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the free Advanced copy. This Audiobook is expected to be published September 24, 2024.

11/05/2024 Update:

Sooooo… I was right!
I enjoyed it more the second time around, though it may be a mix of actually getting to read it then filling in any blanks from the first lap and getting to relive the ‘Burrito Scene’ between Theo and Tuck at the end. 🤌🤌🤌 Good stuff! If you know, you know lmao. Originally I had given this a 3.5/5-star rating, but getting to follow along and really understand some spots where my ears betrayed me gave it the extra .5 star it needed for the 4/5 . My opinion still stands, it was a great read that’s easy to consume in a single sitting. And that’s a lot coming from me because I read VERY slowly. Especially when I’m enjoying myself! Gotta properly digest everything. You know the rest. 🍽️🍻

My thanks to Flatiron Books and NetGalley for the Digital ARC. This book is ALREADY OUT!!! Go check it out for yourself and see what you think!

A cleverly written group gets together in a graveyard, which reveals a freshly dug grave in a historical graveyard. Who dug it and why?

I liked the five characters- their descriptions felt individual and somewhat described. I could picture them. The story wasn’t as much. It was a little intriguing but there wasn’t enough set up for the gravedigger, for the actions the characters took after. But maybe it was trying to be overly ambitious for being such a short story.

The mystery never felt mysterious enough for me to follow after so it was hard to fall in-line with the characters that did. But the writing is good and makes me want to read other stories by the author. The book has a premise that could be promising but never fully develops. And then it ends? Like, is that an ending? I wish this was like 75-100 pages more.

I just finished ML Rio’s GRAVEYARD SHIFT, so it’s time to play my favorite game: BORROW OR BUY.

Is this a book you should just read and leave?

Or is this a book that you need to go ahead and TREAT YO SHELF.

Let’s find out!

1, COVER SEXINESS

I am an absolute sucker for an Old World-looking painting with neon text laid over the top of it. So there’s no question, at first glance, that I find the cover of GRAVEYARD SHIFT certified sexy as hell.

Love the weird rat with the mushrooms and goopy pinky stuff dripping off of it.

Love that font and the 3D effect.

This is a cover I’d absolutely love on my bookshelf.

Point awarded!

2, MEMORABILITY

GRAVEYARD SHIFT is one of the most unique stories I’ve read this year. It combines gothic spookiness; fun, round characters; and a plot that I didn’t see coming, but thoroughly enjoyed. Think: SPOTLIGHT meets COLD STORAGE.

A fungal fright fest that I’ll have no problem remembering for years to come.

Point awarded!

3, RE-READABILITY

As a novella, and because it was very propulsive, I FLEW through this book. I loved the vibes so much, that I can totally see re-reading this during spooky season in a few years.

Point awarded!

4, RECOMMENDABILITY

Hands down this was my favorite book I read this spooky szn, and probably a top 3 spooky book for me in the past 5 years. I loved it because it was super atmospheric and gothic, well-written, fast, and smart. Again, super fresh in plot.

I have been, and I will be, recommending this book until I’m green in the face. So would be nice to have this on my shelf to loan out to friends and family!

Point awarded!

5, RATING

GRAVEYARD SHIFT was a rare 5-star for me. It’s also a CERTIFIED UNPUTDOWNABLE. I wait years for books like this to come along. My only wish for it: That her publisher had asked her for a full novel version of this! I could have stayed in this world and mystery for much longer!

Point awarded!

That’s a 5/5 and a certified BUY. I’ve got my signed copy coming from my besties at Novelette Books in Nashville as we speak.

If spooky but not terrifying horror is your thing, with a surprising touch of Michael Crichton medical thrillerness, buy GRAVEYARD SHIFT by ML Rio now!

I didn't realize quite how steeped in medical horror and science this one was going to be, but it was a pleasant surprise nonetheless. M. L. Rio can write atmosphere, that's for sure.

Really loved the concept of the novella, but wish the ending was not quite as lackluster! I think fans of Rio will be happy for another story from the author but not with the length and execution of the story.

From the author of If We Were Villains comes Graveyard Shift, a new horror mystery novella. The story centers around an insomniatic group of night workers who stumble across a freshly dug grave, and, over the span of a single night, they try to uncover its secrets.

I found the characters themselves to be fun and engaging and we get some crumbs of fantastic body horror, but the plot itself is threadbare.

Granted, novellas can be a tricky length to tackle, and, clocking at only 144 pages, this book feels more like the barebones of a plot idea than a proper story. It feels incomplete. I wish it had been fleshed out and developed further because, as it stands, many questions go half-answered and the abrupt ending may leave readers unsatisfied.

Thank you, Netgalley and ‎Flatiron Books, for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I had not realized this was a novella at first so after getting over the disappointment that it wouldn't be very long, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. While the prose isn't quite as beautiful as If We Were Villains, the plot and the characters were all compelling. I also really enjoyed the departure from dark academia's usual focus on the humanities, the focus on the sciences felt novel and refreshing (if a bit of a stretch given IRB rules). I think this will certainly appeal to Rio fans and dark academia fans in general. Mostly I just wish it was longer!

*2 stars* This felt so rushed and didn't have enough plot or character development for me to care. The writing is fantastic but would prefer a full length novel.

A nice novella for October. I really enjoyed the eerie vibes with the touch of mystery. Juggling 5 POVs and making each character distinct was really fun. I do think this would have been executed better as a longer book.

Oooof. I have been so eager to read this and yet I was let down.
Although this is a novella I expected to feel like everything was fleshed out in a satisfactory way but Graveyard Shift left much to be desired. I felt like nothing was taken to where it needed to be, it all felt lack luster. I expected a LOT and I think those expectations hurt my enjoyment of the book.
HOWEVER, I can see so many people loving this. A truly quick read that leaned on the edge of spooky, and a quick horror esque mystery.

I really liked the setup up for this novella. The characters are interesting, and the main story is compelling. Everything is here for a great novel. And therein lies the problem...we have multiple characters and POVS with complex and intriguing backstories, and we have a main plot with a lot of meat to it also. All of this is packed into a novella. It ends up feeling underdeveloped - I say take this one back to the drawing board and make it a full novel!

In this novella, a motley crew of night-shift smokers gathers in a graveyard behind a university and discovers an open grave filled with dead rats. They take it upon themselves to investigate the mysterious gravedigger and the grave's contents.

I really enjoyed the book's narrative structure, with each chapter being told from a different POV. The unique threads connecting each character to the overall plot worked really well. The audiobook, with its talented narrators, truly brought the story to life. Every narrator skillfully built tension and infused an eerie atmosphere into the narrative.

The dark academia setting, a personal favorite of mine, added an intriguing layer to the story, particularly Rio's exploration of the effects of insomnia within this setting. The ending surprised me but left me wanting more. I wished there were a couple more chapters to see if I guessed the ending correctly!

M.L. Rio added some neat extras at the end of the book, including a playlist and some cocktail recipes. And be sure to read the author's note to learn more about the inspiration behind the story. This was my first time reading a book by M.L. Rio, and I'm already looking forward to the next one!

huge 'the last of us' vibes, which was probably my favorite part of the book. it just started to get good when it ended, so this book left me wanting more.

with novellas, they're always hard to review and rate because they're so short and normally action packed, which this one heavily delivered on. i just really wish we got MORE. i think this would've been an excellent full length novel, and i will probably be on the look out for books with similar themes.

each character was complex and had their own unique voice. normally with multiple POVs, theres always one character thats less interesting than the rest that you just wanna skim through, but i was invested in each and everyones life and side of the story. definitely not very horror filled, more so a character study with a thrilling mystery aspect to it (which i loved)

i will say the ending was so abrupt i had to go back and make sure i didn't miss anything. i just wish it had ended differently, it felt like we were JUST starting to get answers and then we were cut short.

3.5 stars

Graveyard Shift promises to be an eerie, Gothic tale told over the course of a single night. Though I loved ML Rio’s writing and I thought some of the characters showed a lot of promise, I found this novella underwhelmingly straight forward. This is a story that begs to be weird, creepy, and twisty and yet Graveyard Shift never goes there. It was satisfying how every element of the story came together but the reveal still felt safe and predictable. The pacing is well done and the characters have lots of hidden complexity to catch your attention. But, unfortunately, this one note mystery doesn’t deliver a novella that stands well on its own.

To be incredibly picky about a very minor detail; there are two chapters involved in the “big reveal” that I think should have been inverted. I think the pacing of the reveal would have been more impactful if the order of information had been switched. As it is, the second chapter feels a bit redundant as other characters slowly walk through information the reader already knows. It only stood out to me because there are so few chapters in this work to begin with.

I am not generally the biggest fan of novellas. But I really expected Graveyard Shift to be weirder, creepier, and overall more than it was.

Every night at midnight, five shift workers congregate at a church cemetery. Not for some sinister purpose, but merely to have a smoke break, as smoking is prohibited on university property up to 100 feet from any campus building.

Similar to her controversial best-seller If We Were Villains, Rio’s most recent novella also delves into the much-loved realm of dark academia. Graveyard Shift is reminiscent of a Gothic mystery, but instead of a mansion perched on a cliff, it’s set against the academic backdrop of a university and an abandoned church.

Full review: https://westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2024/10/11/the-graveyard-shift-ml-rio/