The Grave Yard Shift offered up a creepy gothic horror novella. An odd group of people that work the night shift happen upon each while taking a break each night. On one particular night they find a freshly dug grave and each spends time investigating it. Things get weird and disturbing quickly.

This is a wonderfully atmospheric Gothic novella with well-drawn characters, a thoughtful campus mystery (with a healthy dose of Dark Academia flavor), and multi-layered meaning about the power of what keeps us awake at night, literally and metaphorically. I found this to be very satisfying for its length. I was instantly drawn in by the setting and the personalities, and I stayed for the compelling ideas. It would be perfect for the Halloween season! The audiobook benefits from terrific readings by narrators representing the different points of view. Recommended!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to an ARC of this audiobook.

The was a nice quick spooky read. I’d classify it as horror just because of the looming dread and spooky elements, but there’s not too much gore or really scary stuff. This wouldn’t be terrible for the faint of heart. Rio does a lot with so many characters in so little time. The flow of the story from one perspective to the next is masterfully done. Somehow the cliffhanger ending is still super satisfying narratively.

Short, quick, mystery novella that kept me wanting to know more. I wish that there was a second or even a longer book. I could have kept reading, it was that interesting, i found myself very interested in the scientific experiments and the personal lives of all those that came to the grave yards

3.5 stars rounded up

This was a fun and creepy little novella with gothic horror vibes. Graveyard Shift follows a mis-matched group of people who work the night shift and meet in a historic graveyard, some for a smoke break. There's the owner of a bar that serves college students, a struggling journalist/college student, a ride-share driver with insomnia, a hotel receptionist, and the steward of the ancient church next to the graveyard.

On this night, they find a mysterious hole that had recently been dug and spend the night investigating what's going on. They each have a role to play and things get weird... This was short but enjoyable and somewhat disturbing. Great option for a quick read! The audio narration is good too and gives the right atmosphere. I received an audio review copy via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

My first novel by M. L. Rio and I enjoyed it. I finished it in one car ride. Has a good spookiness to it. I only wish this would have been longer.

This is an eerie mystery combined with a little light fungal horror that follows a group of insomniacs that stumble upon an open grave in their defunct graveyard. They all have their own unique reasons to be invested in the mystery and the author does an excellent job weaving their narratives together. That being said, this novella could easily have been twice its length. I found the end to be quite unsatisfying, but I wonder if that is the point, like the handful of hours that an insomniatic is able to glean between waking hours.

'Graveyard Shift' was just ok for me. I was interested in the story and where it was going, but I felt it ended too abruptly. If it had been developed into a full-length novel with some resolution at the end, I think I would have enjoyed it more.As it was, it left me with too many questions at the end.

Enjoyable, but not very memorable. Three stars.

Mysterious and atmospheric. I listened to the whole novella throughout the day and I liked the performance from the various narrators, but it kept me out of the story. I couldn’t follow what was happening between the jumping POVs so I think it would better read on the page. Nevertheless, it was a quick listen with gothic and academic themes so I’ll try to pick it up again when the book is out.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the listening copy.

A creepy story of a group of people who meet nightly in an old cemetery to smoke. One night, however, a large whole full of something appears...
Atmospheric and interesting, this is a novella to listen to.

Unfortunately, this book really wasn't for me. I always hate when that happens with a Netgalley book because I'm always so grateful to have received an ARC copy.

But sometimes, it just works out that way. :-/

In this case, it worked out that way.

I think the book definitely suffered from being novella length instead of a full-length novel. There was very little world-building, and all the characters got thrown at the reader at once, so it was almost impossible to keep track of who was who.

I constantly kept getting confused by who was talking. I would think it was one person, then they'd say something that pertained to an event that happened with another character, and I'd suddenly realize, "Oh! That's not her! It's HER!"

It just felt rushed and didn't give you enough time to get to know the characters or the setting. As a result, nothing felt impactful. Even when you find out the "horrible truth" behind what's going on, you're just kind of like, "Meh."

Yeah. As much as I hate to rate Netgalley books badly, this one just wasn't it for me.

A big thanks, though, to the publisher and to Netgalley for allowing me early access. That's always appreciated, even when the books fall a little flat for me.

Thank you, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley, for this ARC!!

I loved the audiobook and the full cast of narrators; it kept me engaged the entire time. I couldn't tell where the story was going from the first chapter, but was absorbed with the plot and how the group used their skills/abilities to solve the mystery.

For a novella, I enjoyed this and felt creeped out enough; this was definitely a good start to the spooky season for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced audio of Graveyard Shift by M.L. Rio.

This novella by the author of If We Were Villains held the same spirit as their debut. Listeners will enjoy the reading of the full cast and the easy friendship of the characters - as well as the spooky story!

I honestly don't even know how to rate this book, so I'll go with three stars.

The author does an incredible job of creating a chilling atmosphere where you know that something isn't quite right, but I felt that this novella was too short to really develop the plot. I found myself asking more questions and scratching my head by the end.

This is brilliant! I just wish it were a full length novel. I wanted more!! The characters were great and felt quite fleshed out, despite the short length. The plot was super intriguing and the twists were great. Highly recommend picking it up!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ALC!

What I liked about this novella was the narration and the setting. The narrators did a great job. The setting definitely was spot on for spooky autumn reading.

The story fell flat for me and I felt nothing for the characters. It wasn't memorable for me. The story felt like it was too long even though it was a novella. I just didn't enjoy much about this unfortunately. It wasn't for me.

I enjoyed reading about these friends with insomnia in common. I only wish it were longer.

Have you ever had trouble sleeping? I definitely have, but the characters in this book (especially Hannah) have it so much worse. Sleep eludes all of them to the point that they all meet up and hangout together in a cemetery late at night.
On one of these evenings, they see rat corpses. Like...a lot of rat corpses. And start on a search to find out what happened to them.

I loved and related to all of the characters for different reasons. They all had a very real sense of humanity and being flawed.

I would listen to again to pick up on some of the things I missed, which I am sure was a lot.

Rio once again proves her prowess in creating an eerie plot and setting with "Graveyard Shift". Not dissimilar from the group of students in "Before We Were Villians", the novella introduces us to a group of nightshift workers suffering from insomnia. In the course of one evening, the group notices a gravedigger in the graveyard long past his shift and subsequently discover a sinister plot coming out of the university's science labs.

Considering this was a novella, there is not as much character or plot development as you would expect with a longer novel. The ending does seem to sort of fizzle out, leaving it up to the reader to imagine the consequences of one night. Despite an unsatisfactory ending, Rio's prose and descriptions are masterful (this was so much of what I loved about BWWV).

I also thoroughly enjoy an audiobook with variable narrators, and this was no exception!

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed the creativity behind this storyline with a group of characters who meet in an old, historical graveyard and make a gruesome discovery. The plotting was engrossing and entertaining, but I never truly connected with any of the characters. I do recommend this book for fans of horror who enjoy a faster plot. I did like the narrators, and I made it through the audiobook quickly. Thank you MacMillan audio for the ALC.

Every night in the college’s ancient cemetery, five misfit late shift workers meet up. When a freshly dug open grave appears in the cemetery, they follow the gravedigger to get to the bottom of things. They soon realize the grave is linked to shady nefarious experiments at the college, experiments that have led to tragedies and strange happenings around town. This is a creepy atmospheric modern gothic novella, sure to make your skin crawl! The narration was haunting and spine-chilling. Loved it.
✨Pub Date: 9/24/24 ✨
4.5/5⭐️