5 stars

This was as close to perfect a short story as I've read in a really long time. The story is told from the POV of Paul a young man who works cleaning "hoarding houses". His crew gets a job cleaning out a house owned by a former scientist who's brother-in-law is moving her into assisted living. Once Paul gets inside the house, he finds a little hedgehog teacup and that is the start of a strange, horrifying, yet beautiful narrative.

I cannot begin to tell you how much I love this story. The writing is phenomenal, The way the author moves from humor, to horror, to heartbreaking grief, incredible. I highlighted so much I eventually had to stop because I was capturing the whole book! There were passages talking about grief and hoarding that literally had me sobbing.

The body horror is intense, this author does not pull her punches in that area. But somehow, in the midst of that horror, there is so much heart. I immediately looked this author up and downloaded two more stories from her and can't wait to read them.

This was so, so good. Go in totally blind, if you can help it. I would not recommend eating while reading.

this was.... disturbing but somehow kinda sweet???

we're following paul as he's navigating through life and his grief. as someone who cleans hoarder houses, he's used to picking up after others, but 928 avirosa is different. there's something in the house that is alive, growing and getting attached to paul (iykyk). he's even beginning to hear a voice that's speaking only to him.

as he's sifting through piles of "garbage" he realizes he's going through items that were once cherished by someone else. this leads to him thinking a lot about how people get into hoarder house situations and what it may mean when someone isn't able to let go of things. i enjoyed the commentary on grief and keeping things as a means to feel some kind of control when it feels like you have none. there were a few moments that got a little technical with the biology terms, but nothing to where you couldn't follow the story.

if you're into weird and gross body horror with a semi-unreliable narrator then you should check this one out. it's short enough to read in one sitting, but not so short where you feel like you could never get invested in the story. even after you close the book, it leaves you thinking about the content. surprisingly, i've found myself thinking back on the commentary about grief and death rather than the disgusting body horror (though that comes into mind from time to time too).

p.s. you'll probably want to take a shower after this one.

thank you to the author and stelliform press for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.75 stars, rounded up to 4!

4.25 stars - Beautifully disturbing and horrifying - I was completely hooked from page one. Paul Simard cleans houses, specifically homes of hoarders, packed tight and overflowing with the things they'd loved. When he and his team are called in to clean 928 Avirosa, the home of an elderly biologist, Paul's life will never be the same. Within the walls of the house something is alive, growing, almost calling out - and then comes the voice in Paul's head. A story of fear, love, life, and death, this is a gorgeously written and quick but impactful read.

Thank you to Stelliform Press and NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Loved it! It was an short an easy read but you'll be thinking and shuddering over it for a long time afterwards!
Very interesting take on the singularity of humanity and on an America's greatest fear, the cost of having to go to the doctor.

I am not going to lie. This is definitely motivating me to declutter my entire house. I try to do that anyway, but I am definitely going to throw out things now. a decade or so ago I did animal control and I had a few animal hoarding cases. I felt the moment when Paul smelled the smell and puked and I jumped when he smeared the stuff on his face.
I will never recover from this. NEVER.
Beautiful weird little book.

Perfect little novella that is somehow both emotionally resonant and completely horrific. Contains some images of body horror that I will never forget. You will never look at mushrooms the same way again.

Wow this was great. I read it in one sitting bc I genuinely couldn't put this down. The body horror was so well done that I honestly wanted to run to the mirror and check myself to see if everything looked ok lmao. I also loved the discussions about grief and hoarding. I would definitely recommend this, if you like fungi horror, grief horror and, of course, body horror. Also if you're looking for a quick read with a queer protagonist, this would be a great choice as well.

My only criticism is the cover. I think this book deserves a better one, maybe like the cover of What Moves the Dead. So sth that tells the reader immediately that this book is about fungi and body horror.

Note: will review this on Amazon as well, when the book is published.

This is an impressive, propulsive story that combines eerie , genuinely unsettling horror vibes with heartfelt meditations on human (and non-human) connections.

Our protagonist, Paul, cleans hoarder houses, and has just been tasked with tackling perhaps the most challenging home yet. At the start of the book, he is grieving both the loss of a romantic partner and the loss of his mother, and reflections on grief and loss, and how these relationships linger for us, frame the story. Yet - without getting into spoiler territory - the book is also quite hopeful and life-affirming at heart.

My favourite part of this was the straight up WTF body horror moments which took me by surprise. I was genuinely unsettled by many passages and that's saying a lot!

Thank you for the ARC!

A tad bit hard to follow at points with all the biology terminology but inevitably I ended up enjoying it in the end. A different take on grief in this short story. Some of the body horror was very interesting and unlike anything I’ve ever read before.

Beautiful, horrifying read. I’ve never read a book that made me feel so equally dirty and loved, like I both needed to take a shower and also hug a someone close. It’s terrible and lovely, full of fear, despair and ultimately hope. Highly recommend.

This is so much more than a short horror novel. It’s a beautifully written meditation on life, death and the connections that make life the great mystery it is. There are quite a few pretty icky body-horror moments but you don’t get bogged down by the yuck. Read this. You will thank yourself afterwards.

Delightfully creepy and horrifying with a tender twist. I loved this short story! I wish it was so much longer so I could continue reading it. the nostalgic memories of the mc and others is charming and soothing after a detailed description of my worst nightmare.
This story follows Paul at one of his jobs as a hoarder cleaner. During this job, the team is tasked to clean out a house of a biologist whose focus is fungi. During this clean up, Paul metaphorically & literally transforms, heals emotionally, and discovers a deeper understanding of the connection that exists among fungi, the earth, and the people. Perfect for lovers of creep, science, & horror.

This was a fantastic short story that was not only creepy, but also tugged at my heart. I would recommend for anyone looking for a quick, unique horror read with substance. Thanks so much for letting me read in advance! .

Very good balance between psychology, ecology, and the urge to just scrub your home and body after reading the first few pages. While I wish this was a longer story to take me on a deeper journey with all of the characters, for a quick story this one had me hooked, slightly disturbed, and questioning much of my own mind at the end.
I truly feel it is worth a read.